Samir is currently the CEO & Founder of SMEcorner, a new age SME focused NBFC. He believes technology will bring revolution in the finance industry by making the lending process faster and easier. Samir brings decades of experience from leading financial institutions such as Citibank, HDFC Bank, Barclays, and Equifax. His mission is to fill India's SME lending gap using technology based on a combination of traditional and new alternate data, with strong use of decision science. SMEcorner is scaling up rapidly and is today present in 16 cities in India.
Samir was also one of the promoters of a successful company named Vastu Housing Finance Corporation Ltd. (VHF). VHF is addressing the gap in affordable housing finance by using a combination of technology and traditional distribution model to provide simple, easy, and flexible loans. VFH is today a large, well-funded company with presence in over 35 cities in India. Samir continues to be on the Board of VHF.
Samir is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountant of India and a Cost Accountant from the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of India. Samir qualified as a Chartered Accountant in November 1986 and stood 7th All India in the CA Final Exams.
Besides being a successful entrepreneur Samir is an avid runner and a fitness freak, having completed over 50 Half and Full Marathons. He feels engaging oneself with some fitness activity like running, strength training, cycling keeps him healthy and helps him in dealing with stress.
Samir is an animal lover and actively supports and volunteers for organizations such as The Welfare of Stray Dogs, In Defense of Animals, World for All Animals and Save Our Strays.
Samir is a veteran of Wholesale and Retail banking with decades of experience in leadership roles across leading financial institutions. He started his career with Citibank and worked in risk credit and finance functions. He played a key role in HDFC Bank as a founding team member and headed the Corporate and SME Business. He built the Retail and Commercial business in India for Barclays. He established the JV for Equifax in India from inception, including identifying local partners and acquiring the licence from the Central Bank.
Samir is an avid runner and takes a keen interest in fitness and running. Samir has completed over 50 Half and Full Marathons. He is one among just approximately 1000 people in the world to have completed the World Marathon Majors which includes the largest and the most renowned marathons of the world namely New York, Chicago, Berlin, Tokyo, London, and Boston.
Animal welfare is very close to Samir's heart and he is actively associated with various animal welfare organizations in India such as The Welfare of Stray Dogs, In Defense of Animals, World for All Animals and Save Our Strays.
“THE GREATNESS OF A NATION AND ITS MORAL PROGRESS CAN BE JUDGED BY THE WAY ITS ANIMALS ARE TREATED.”