A hotelier in Tirupati expands his business with BharatPe

Access to formal credit in India is limited due to a lack of adequate credit information, lengthy application processes, and extensive paperwork. The void is being filled by new-age digital lenders who are leveraging cutting-edge technology and alternative credit assessment models to address the needs of the unbanked. Due to its strong focus on unsecured consumption loans delivered at the point of sale, digital lending is becoming extremely successful. It is expected by 2030, digital lending can offer an opportunity of approximately INR 104 trillion, as per a report by Praxis Global Alliance.

BharatPe facilitates collateral-free merchant loans to offline businesses and SMEs, via a completely online process with minimum documents. BharatPe’s merchant loan allows merchants to avail loans in the range of Rs 20,000 to Rs 10 lakhs for up to 15 months tenure, at competitive interest rates. The merchants can repay the loan through a daily repayment mechanism which makes loan repayment a hassle-free exercise.

The story of Sreekanth Y who runs Hotel Surya and restaurant Ramakrishna Bhojnalay in the holy city of Tirupati is one such story among the myriads of stories of BharatPe empowering a merchant with much-needed access to credit, that in turn enabled him to scale his business. Sreekanth is a first-generation entrepreneur who started his hotel around 7 years ago. After working for 18 years as a Kitchen Supervisor in a hotel, Sreekanth decided to don the entrepreneurial hat. He started his entrepreneurial journey by leasing a 12-room hotel opposite the railway station in Tirupati and named it Hotel Surya. The hotel offered a comfortable stay at an affordable price and became a success with positive word of mouth in a very short span of time.

The hotel business was running smoothly but Sreekanth noticed that most of the visitors who were staying at his hotel were enquiring about the dining facility at the hotel and when they found that the hotel didn’t have any, they asked the hotel staff to help with a pocket-friendly dining facility in the vicinity of the hotel. This made Sreekanth realize the need to start a pocket-friendly vegetarian restaurant that could cater to those who were staying at the hotel. Soon, Sreekanth started a restaurant by the name of Ramakrishna Bhojnalay in his hotel offering fresh vegetarian food at pocket-friendly prices. The restaurant has emerged as a sought-after place for travelers looking for homely food.

Both businesses of Sreekanth were running smoothly until Covid induced lockdown impacted them severely. Once the lockdown was lifted and business restarted, Sreekanth noticed that things were not what they use to be before the lockdown. There was a change in consumer behavior and a sudden surge in preference for digital payments. This is when a BharatPe agent visited his hotel in November 2021 and apprised him of the benefits of installing a QR code. Sreekanth started using BharatPe’s UPI QR for accepting digital payments and noticed that it was creating a positive impact on the customers, who felt safer using digital payments as an option.

Post a month, the BharatPe agent told Sreekanth about the merchant loan facility and its features. Sreekanth found the loan option attractive and decided to avail a loan of Rs. 7 lakhs in Dec. 2021 to grow his business. Using the funds, he bought a neighboring tea and coffee shop and named it Café Mumbai.

Sreekanth’s story is the story of a man following his gut instinct to rise in life. This is the story of how conviction and hard work can enable anyone to make their dreams a reality.