Archive · 26 Aug 2026
India’s Finance Boom Builds Fortunes Through Investing, Lending
India’s financial businesses are changing quickly.
Some companies let people invest using mobile apps instead of branches and paperwork.
Zerodha and Groww are examples of online investing platforms.
Other companies lend money when customers offer gold as security.
Muthoot Finance and Manappuram Finance became very large through this model.
Companies such as Piramal Finance, AU Small Finance Bank, Navi, and Paytm also expanded into lending, banking, insurance, payments, or investments.
These businesses helped create very wealthy founders and families.
However, some investors are losing money on risky trades.
Digital lending has also added pressure to some household finances.
Zerodha founders Nithin and Nikhil Kamath have a combined net worth of $9.9 billion as retail investing expands.
Groww grew from mutual-fund distribution into stocks, exchange-traded funds, IPOs, and futures and options.
Muthoot Finance and Manappuram Finance built major fortunes through gold-backed lending.
Piramal Finance, AU Small Finance Bank, Navi, and other lenders expanded through mortgages, banking, digital credit, and financial services.
The financial boom has increased access and private wealth but also exposed retail investors and households to speculative losses and rising debt.
- Who
- Founders and families behind Zerodha, Groww, Muthoot Finance, Manappuram Finance, Piramal Finance, AU Small Finance Bank, Navi, Paytm, and other Indian financial businesses.
- What
- The article examines how online broking, gold loans, lending, banking, digital payments, and wealth management created major private fortunes.
- When
- The article cites figures from 2025-26 and as of June 2026, alongside historical milestones such as Zerodha’s founding in 2010 and Paytm’s growth after 2016.
- Where
- India, including rural and semi-urban markets in Rajasthan and the gold-loan businesses’ roots in Kerala.
- Why
- Retail investing, digital payments, technology-driven finance, lending demand, and the expansion of financial services helped these businesses grow.
Financial Expansion and Access
Investor and Household Risks
Technology-driven finance
Financial Expansion and Access
Low-cost online platforms such as Zerodha and Groww expanded access to investing and financial products while reducing reliance on branches, calls, paperwork, and third-party software.
Investor and Household Risks
The article notes that retail investors are losing money on speculative trades, showing that wider access can also expose users to significant financial losses.
Digital lending growth
Financial Expansion and Access
Navi and other digital lenders expanded credit and related services, while businesses such as Piramal Finance and AU Small Finance Bank served consumers, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and rural borrowers.
Investor and Household Risks
Rising household debt, partly linked to digital lending apps, is putting pressure on family finances.
- Zerodha clients
- More than 17.5 million clients
- Groww active users
- 16.9 million active users as of June 2026
- Muthoot Finance gold-loan business
- $18.5 billion as of June, with 210 tonnes of gold held as security
- Manappuram Finance customers
- Around three million customers and approximately $6 billion in gold-loan assets
- Piramal Finance loan book
- More than $11 billion, mainly in retail mortgages, personal loans, and small-business loans
- AU Small Finance Bank customers
- More than 12 million customers
- Paytm users and merchants
- 80 million users and 50 million merchants as of June