The "Success Story" Blueprint: How a Nepali Citizen Built India’s Largest P2P

This fintech platform disbursed ₹18,000 crore+ in loans and serves over 3 crore users across India. In this episode, we sit down with Dipesh Karki, Co-founder & CPTO of LenDenClub, to unpack how a Nepali founder built one of India’s largest peer-to-peer lending platforms by focusing on systems, scale, and execution. Born into a middle-class family of teachers in Khotang, Dipesh began his journey with a scholarship to study engineering in India. Instead of looking West, he chose to build in India leveraging proximity, market depth, and a rapidly maturing fintech ecosystem. Today, LenDenClub has enabled ₹17,000–18,000 crore in loans, serves 30+ million customers, and is preparing for a potential IPO positioning itself as India’s first listed P2P lending platform. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Why “Nepal is a small market” is an incomplete way of thinking What India’s startup ecosystem gets right about scale and regulation How unsecured lending works when borrowers have little or no credit history How AI is used to assess “intent to pay,” not just credit scores How LenDenClub navigated RBI regulation while others struggled Why India can be a real alternative market for Nepali founders Why Nepal needs to move from exporting labor to building creators and systems This episode is for founders, builders, students, policymakers, and anyone curious about how large-scale platforms are built, regulated, and sustained in the real world—especially from South Asia. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:35 Why Nepal Feels Like a “Small Market” 04:05 Nepali Identity Beyond Political Borders 07:28 Choosing India Over Nepal for Education 09:20 First Job in Delhi & Early Career Reality 12:05 Moving to Mumbai & Entering High-Stakes Engineering 14:35 Birth of LenDenClub 16:35 ₹17,000+ Crore in Loans & National Scale 18:05 Serving 30 Million Customers 19:35 The Problem with Shadow Lending 21:15 Why Regulation Was Non-Negotiable 25:35 How AI Changed Credit Decisions 27:05 Judging “Intent to Pay” with Data 30:35 The Future of Banking Without Banks 35:35 Why Unsecured Lending Matters 38:35 India vs Nepal: Regulation & Ease of Doing Business 41:35 Why Building in India Is Easier Today 47:35 Staying Nepali While Building in India 51:54 Nepal Between the World’s Two Biggest Markets 58:35 Why Civic Sense Holds Countries Back 1:06:35 Turning Native Skills into Global Products 1:24:35 The Only Limitation Is the Mind 1:34:35 From Labor Economy to Creator Economy   Want to join us live in the studio as an audience member? Fill out this form: https://forms.gle/xZi8yptyoxkkc6aa8    ✉ Reach out to us at [email protected]   🎧 Listen on audio platforms:  https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-32f7s-19cc50b   🎤 Host: Anup Ghimire Founder of Doers Nepal  LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/anup-ghimire-9366aa5a/    👥 Guest  Dipesh Karki  CTO @ LenDenClub  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepeshkarkee/ 📲 Follow The Doers Nepal: Instagram:   / https://www.instagram.com/thedoersglobal/ Facebook:   / https://www.facebook.com/thedoersnepal/   🎬 Production Partner: Viewfinders Production Instagram:   / https://www.instagram.com/viewfindersstudio/?igsh=MWlseDV5azB3Y3lsMw%3D%3D#   This episode is strengthened by Hama Steels and insured by Himalayan Everest Insurance  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AGS33qQH3/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamasteel/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/himalayaneverestinsurance?mibextid=LQQJ4d&rdid=Ccm3aTE9zypUEi6B&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2FariZHNDrbMn2vFse%2F%3Fmibextid%3DLQQJ4d#  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hei.com.np/   Need help building a high-quality podcast? They’ve got you covered – from set design and shooting to post-production and guest curation.   📸 Wedding Dreams Nepal Instagram:   / weddingdreamsnepal    Website: https://weddingdreamsnepal.com    📞 Call: +977 9813657889   #doersnepal  #fintech  #startuppodcast  #founderstory  #p2plending  #NepaliFounder #startupjourney  #digitallending  #AIInFintech #entrepreneurship  #businesspodcast  #futureofbanking