Mr. Tanesh Gagnani, Executive Director, Akasa Finance Limited

Can you explain the company’s business model and key strengths?

Akasa Finance Limited is one of the country’s leading non-banking finance company (NBFC). It is an environment and social (ESG) centric NBFC, which uses finance as an intermediate to endorse conversion to electric mobility, reduce the carbon footprint of the country and finance the under-banked segments of society who are not able to consume formal banking channels and help them to mature their business and meet their personal needs. Our target is to empower an ecosystem where transformation to electric vehicles becomes easier for customers. We diligently work with manufacturers to guarantee the quality of products and are actively mounting our territorial range to ensure we can serve customers from the maximum area.

Have the recent incidents of EV bikes burning impacted demand?

The recent instances of electric scooters catching fire in India is certainly a setback for the steadfast penetration of electric mobility in the country and might also have an impact on India’s ambitious target of achieving 80% electric two wheelers on Indian roads by 2030 from 2% today. Though the sale of the electric two wheelers have more than doubled this year, the incidents of fire might create concerns among prospective buyers who might reconsider their plans to go electric. The electric vehicle sector is still at the nascent stage and holds huge potential for growth in India; hence, anything negative is certain…