MSME sector in India contributes nearly 30% to the GDP, and employs over 110 millennium individuals, although only a minor part of them has formal and structured credit. Although there is an increase in digital lending, it is evident that most of the SMEs are baffled, they do not know not only how to get credit but also what they should and should not be and how they would plan to borrow over a long period.
In an open conversation with Nitin Khandelwal, Founder and CEO of OneNDF, we discuss the way his secured-lending platform applies credit intelligence and real-time matching of lenders to reinvent the future of MSME finance.
Q: Despite fintech growth, why does MSME lending remain challenging?
Khandelwal: Most MSMEs don’t suffer from loan unavailability — they suffer from lack of visibility into why they do or don’t qualify. Lenders use different eligibility filters, yet SMEs have no way to map their financials to lender logic. As a result, they end up applying blindly, accepting higher rates, or facing rejection. Access without clarity leads to wrong borrowing, not smart borrowing.
Q: What role is technology truly playing in secured lending?
Khandelwal: We are entering the era of Credit Intelligence, not just loan portals. GST, bureau, and banking data are being consumed in real-time to assess repayment capacity, risk behaviors, and cash flow cycles. The next evolution is predictive advisory—where platforms don’t just process a loan but tell an MSME “What you qualify for today, how to improve eligibility, and when to optimize borrowing.”
In other words: Algorithms will match funding — Advisory will shape it.
Q: What macro trends are currently reshaping the sector?
Khandelwal: I see three big shifts:
- Data-First Underwriting: Credit is shifting from collateral-first to data-first, with AI-led forecasting improving TATs and risk accuracy.
- Rise of Secured Capital As a Growth Lever: With interest rates rising globally, businesses prefer secured loans for lower costs and longer cycles—especially in manufacturing, logistics, infra, and even high-growth new-age startups.
- Transparency as a Trust Currency: SMEs now expect clear timelines, offer comparisons, and lender reasoning — no more “you’ll get to know after processing.”
Additionally, Tier-2 & 3 India is becoming the next credit frontier, but success here hinges on advisory + local trust + digital execution.
Q: How does OneNDF differentiate within this landscape?
Khandelwal: OneNDF is not just a sourcing engine — it is a Credit Readiness + Lender Matching system. Our Financial Health Card helps SMEs understand current eligibility barriers, while our API-powered marketplace of 120+ banks and NBFCs helps them choose the most strategic option, not just the fastest one.
In many ways, we’re moving from loan application to credit planning — guiding SMEs before, during, and after the loan journey.
Q: What’s your key advice to MSMEs preparing for funding?
Khandelwal: “Don’t apply for a loan. Build your loanability first.”
Maintain real-time financials, track bureau trends, understand cash flow patterns, and define your loan purpose sharply. When you borrow strategically, you negotiate better, scale faster, and avoid future refinancing stress.
Q: What will the sector look like in the next 3–5 years?
Khandelwal: AI will pre-empt credit decisions before SMEs even apply.
- Lending will become personalized like health diagnostics — with financial health scores guiding product fit.
- Platforms will evolve into Universal Lending Interfaces (ULIs), integrating advisory, underwriting, documentation, and disbursement.
- Borrowers won’t hunt for lenders — lenders will compete for pre-qualified, well-profiled businesses.
The future belongs to MSMEs that adopt predictive financial discipline and platforms that enable informed, trust-led borrowing.
Key Insight: Secured lending in India is undergoing a shift from opaque, transactional journeys to data-driven, advisory-led ecosystems. With clarity, categorization, and digital trust at its core, platforms like OneNDF aren’t just helping SMEs borrow — they are helping them grow responsibly and sustainably.
About the Featured Guest:
Nitin Khandelwal is a trailblazing entrepreneur and fintech leader transforming how Indian businesses access secured capital. As the Founder & CEO of OneNDF, launched in August 2021, he is building India’s first API-led secured loan marketplace that simplifies discovery, eligibility assessment, lender matching, and disbursement for SMEs, property owners, and real-estate stakeholders.
With 15+ years of expertise in MSME lending, Nitin has disbursed over ₹3,000 Cr+ in secured loans through his ventures, empowering thousands of businesses to scale sustainably.
His professional journey began at Standard Chartered Bank as an SME Lending Specialist, where he mastered credit profiling, structured finance, and customer lifecycle advisory — laying the foundation for his later fintech innovation.
Driven by a vision to build “India’s Universal Lending Interface”, Nitin combines technology, data intelligence, and lender-side API integrations to streamline secured lending with transparency, speed, and trust. Under his leadership, OneNDF is setting a new benchmark in the future of secured finance through:
- Dynamic credit readiness insights
- Intelligent lender-product matching via API
- A nationwide distribution ecosystem of 7,000+ CAs, lenders, and partners
- A mission to reduce borrower cost of credit through platform-led efficiencies
<p>The post OneNDF Founder Nitin Khandelwal Explains the Future of SME Lending first appeared on Hello Entrepreneurs.</p>
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