Good morning. Good evening or good afternoon, depending on where you're signing in from. My name is Kumar Dattatreyan with Agile Meridian. And I'm joined today by a special guest, Nidhi Raj. She's an amazing person I've had the pleasure to meet. I've been working with Nidhi for the past 3 or 4 months. Nidhi brings over two decades of experience as a marketing strategist, and she specializes in customer needs assessment and problem-solving through tailored solutions within multinational corporations. A fervent advocate for women's empowerment and financial freedom, she has earned prestigious accolades as Woman of the Year and one of the 100 Most Influential and Admired Marketing Minds in India. That's amazing.
Nidhi is on a personal endeavor to empower every woman to seize control of their finances and attain their financial aspirations. Her unwavering dedication to this cause resonates strongly in her work, where she combines her extensive experience and passion to drive positive change in women's financial well-being.
So that's quite a bio there, Nidhi. I want to just start by asking you a few questions about this. So there's a new initiative, I know that you're starting, and the initiative is really about women taking charge of their financial futures, right? Can you tell me a little bit more about that? What sparked your passion for improving financial literacy, especially among women in India?
Nidhi: Firstly, thanks a lot, Kumar, for having me in this conversation. I think it's an honor to be here and, you know, have a conversation with you on a platform like this. So thank you so much for inviting me.
Of course. So, that's an interesting question. I think an increasing number of women are joining the workforce now. We have still not reached our diversity goals, though, neither globally nor in India. But, at the same time, women's participation in the workforce is increasing, and they are subject matter experts. In spite of that fact, they do not have enough knowledge to manage their hard earned money. And, so their money doesn't work as hard as they do. And that's what triggered my thought on why not support them to do so?
Not just that. I mean, it is their hard earned money or hard earned wealth that they need to align with their aspirations. They need to live life more independently, freely, and comfortably. So, I would also like to talk about women's saving patterns in India. Women's saving patterns in India are more into informal investments. A lot of women do savings as cash or gold or jewelry. And cash does not account for inflation. The future value of cash reduces. It's a depreciating asset because it doesn't account for inflation.
So the interesting observation is that women are always goal oriented. If you look back to our family members and women in our society and our friends and families, we realize that they have always been saving for the child's education or for the child's marriage or for emergencies. So they already have a pattern of goal oriented saving, but that needs to be streamlined in the direction where it works for them. The money is not depreciating. And, it is gonna be extremely helpful, not just for them but also for their entire family.
I think those are the things that triggered my belief that women have been managing the household extremely efficiently. And if that is extended, whether it is optimizing cost or managing the expenses of the household, now women have this trait of being extremely efficient and perfectionist by default which makes it a fact that when they focus on personal finances and wealth creation, they will excel even beyond their expectations.
It is the lack of financial knowledge that is just stopping them and not letting them venture into financial management formally. Because there is also no financial management training available in India unfortunately. There are no schools that teach this when it's the most basic aspect of living a successful life.
I think there is enough and more training available for men and it's very jargonized. It's difficult for women to understand. So all these factors led to the need for this effort.
Kumar: That's a really interesting effort that you've started. What would you say drove this passion? Was it personal experience? Was it someone in your family or life that made you stand up and say I'm gonna do something to change the status quo in the country for women in India?
Nidhi: I think there are multiple factors, not just personal. When I look around and see the lack of confidence in women, getting them financially enabled and independent will help solve challenges they face - whether social, personal or family. Any barriers they face in life can be sorted with this one basic change.
I would cover the top 3 social challenges for women. First is lack of financial literacy. Second is cultural barriers - dependency on men for financial decisions. Finally, it is the confidence they lack because of not having the right knowledge. When I see these factors, I felt there's a need for this effort.
When you talk about personal motivates, doing something for society is embedded in me from childhood, seeing my mother who is a doctor serving people selflessly. I always wanted to give back more than my capacity. I think now is the time to play upfront, question status quos and make a difference.
Kumar: It sounds like you have an inspiring mom who instilled this passion driving you to change things where you live. This talk fits our theme of people embracing change or disruption for good, though there are always winners and losers. In this case it seems a win-win - women become more independent and confident. But I wonder if men would see it as a loss for them, losing control?
Nidhi: I wouldn’t say this is a loss for men because it adds to investments and the economy. Men are already actively managing finances so this is an additional leg for the family, like 1+1=2. It will never impact men’s financial management but rather support them and the family. I think it is additional value for the family, community and economy.
Kumar: I see your point. In the long run this will benefit everyone. But overcoming cultural norms will be difficult. My mother had no finance knowledge. I wonder how you'll help traditional older women lacking baseline knowledge when even information available is too complex.
Nidhi: Even homemakers have basic money management skills running household expenses. We need to elevate that to formal management. Bridging the gap between complex information and available investment products is key. And it's a tough slow process changing mindsets from just managing home to full finances. But I believe women's efficiency makes them equipped to understand. Aligning goals is key, whether short or long term.
Building trust is difficult too. Communities can help with peer learning and success stories. Initiatives building trust spaces for judgement-free conversations are vital. Once the knowledge gets adapted into implementation, real change happens.
Kumar: So you’ll start with working women as they understand the ecosystem, then cascade down through advocacy as more women become empowered?
Nidhi: Yes, exactly. One person alone can't bring full change. It has to be a viral effect led by many women. Hence we need lots of advocates. Technology aids community building and sharing success stories at scale. Once educated, more women managing wealth, investing and earning over inflation rate creates advocates leading to geographic and socioeconomic percolation.
Kumar: Your target audience would need to be tech savvy then. Is that why you focus there, as it’s "low hanging fruit" before expanding more broadly?
Nidhi: Absolutely. Women need to see more use cases and hear success stories from trusted community members. To get more advocates, first adoption must be with women who understand. Then it percolates down to tier 2/3 cities and so on.
Kumar: In the US there’s little financial education. My 26-year-old son had never written a check. In India, do schools include financial management?
Nidhi: Unfortunately not yet, though government initiatives exist. Currently it’s informal through parents but that knowledge can be limited or conservative.
This generation's knowledge surpasses ours thanks to tech exposure and self-learning. But 9/10 investors lose money due to lack of right knowledge - instead it’s tips or content which may not suit their stage. Every individual must capture the right knowledge before investing.
Kumar: Your network will educate women to help change status quo and bring viral impact. What’s the long term economic potential?
Nidhi: Indian government programs for women empowerment align with UN 2030 sustainable development goals, including financial inclusion as critical. Experts strongly believe enabling women economically unlocks major milestones. RBI also has policies to improve women’s financial access and education with microfinancing. So the time is right with supportive government policies too.
Kumar: What help do you need to get this initiative off the ground?
Nidhi: I need support from women around me and the government. But most important is community building - getting women to believe this will enhance their confidence and freedom. I’m glad for this podcast reaching more people to take it to the next level. Please reach out to me via the website to get involved!
For young women aiming for leadership - build self confidence and surround yourself with supporters. Persevere through self-doubt and don't hesitate to reach out. Believe in yourself and you will achieve heights you aspire to.
Kumar: That’s an inspiring message that starts with self-belief and overcoming fluctuations of confidence and doubt by persevering. Please share anything else before we wrap up?
Nidhi: I’m honored to have this conversation on your platform to discuss my mission. Together we can drive positive change for women's financial wellbeing in India.
