Beating SBI, 1% NPAs & India's Massive Loan Gap I Victor Senpaty Co-Founder Propelld

Who is funding the students that India's banks won't touch?Propelld is one of India's largest education-focused lenders, giving loans to roughly 1.5 lakh students every year — matching SBI — with a team a fraction of the size and no branch network. In a single financial year it now disburses more education loans than SBI did in six years of its history.Victor started Propelld in 2016 with a thesis born out of a Milton Friedman paper: a good student should never have to walk away from a good opportunity just because they don't have the money. Propelld hit its stride by going exactly where traditional lenders refuse to — 70% of its borrowers come from tier-3 cities, a segment banks treat as too risky.Instead of chasing the safe 1% of students at IITs and IIMs, Victor made a bet most lenders never make. He built the ability to underwrite the end-use itself — a "Crystal score" for institutes and courses that measures employability and real ROI. The result: NPAs held at ~1%, roughly one-tenth of what banks see the moment they step outside tier-1.Victor has a clear view of where lending goes next. In a post-LLM world, risk, distribution, and fulfillment get radically more efficient — one person already drives ₹50 crore of disbursal a year, and OPEX is projected to fall toward 2% at ₹6,000 crore AUM. His ranking never changes: NPAs first, unit economics second, growth third.If you are excited about how AI is rebuilding lending — and who gets to dream bigger because of it — this episode is for you.00:00 - Trailer00:50 - The two numbers that tell Propelld's story01:55 - Why 70% of borrowers come from tier-3 cities02:21 - How NPAs stay at 1%02:52 - Why education is a great asset class04:04 - Building a "Crystal score" for institutes and courses05:31 - End-use control: why an education loan isn't a personal loan06:27 - Why banks only lend to IITs and IIMs08:36 - Measuring employability to underwrite the end-use10:23 - 10 years at the intersection of fintech and edtech11:46 - Why education financing is only ~5% penetrated17:53 - Do India's graduate really not get a job?21:12 - The 8% data point, and quantifying ROI22:24 - The social mobility no one can price25:39 - From IIT Madras and a global bank to building Propelld27:41 - How the post-LLM world rewires lending30:26 - How fast an institute gets onboarded and a loan disbursed32:12 - Profitable at a ₹1 lakh ticket size34:13 - The financials: doubling revenue, holding costs flat to FY3037:19 - Lending as an ecosystem enabler, not just a loan39:33 - The most valuable courses in a post-LLM world41:40 - The bet on arts graduates as coding gets commoditized43:32 - The Milton Friedman paper that started it all46:53 - 100 investors, and the few who said yes48:33 - Co-founding with school friends since class 650:24 - Settling disagreements over food and Hampi trips51:31 - The most common mistake fintech founders make52:51 - The one metric that ranks above everything: NPAs-------------India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us Fan Mail