India’s own techno czar had a chance landing at the stock market. A Mechanical Engineer by profession, Jignesh Shah entered the Bombay Stock Exchange to look at its technical aspects. Soon, Shah, at the age of 26, raised money by mortgaging his house and setting up a company that aimed to service the financial market of the nation.
While setting up Financial Technologies (India) Limited, Jignesh Shah didn’t knowhis vision would expand in such a huge manner. He could not have imagined an upgraded version of the Indian financial market, which could be pitted against the world stock exchanges.
The ‘Technocrat’ says, “At 26, when I bet on whatever wealth my family had, including mortgaging our house, to raise $11000 capital for starting Financial Technologies, I hadn’t quite envisaged what it would become in future. There was no way I could have connected the dots looking forward.”
But Jignesh Shah decided to take the leap of faith. “I simply had to trust my gut, trust that the dots would somehow connect in future. It’s only when I look back that I can connect them. And this approach has helped me take where Financial Technologies is today.”
And the Founder of FTIL likes to believe that his company has indeed changed the face of Indian IT sector. He explains, “Post-1992 is the era I would like to refer as India 2.0, a time when reforms have made it possible to create global brands… that focus on IP-centric products or services. This is quite different from the India 1.0 period (prior to 1992) when cost or labor arbitrage drove business, especially in the IT sector.”
According to Jignesh Shah, the change in the IT sector has brought India onthe global map. “These brands have given muscle to the Indian economy, helping it register a consistent upward growth. While the country grew at roughly 6% during the 80s, the 90s has seen the growth rate shoot to 8%, and higher.”
No wonder, Shah is confident about being an integral part of the upgraded India, version 2.0!
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