BENGALURU: Online brokerage platform Sharekhan aims to grow three-fold over the next three years and will drive its business through education. The 17-year-old Indian company, which was acquired by French financial services company BNP Paribas last year, recently launched its new app and is all set to get a digital makeover. It will launch its new website too, in July this year.
With a growing interest among Indian public in equity investments, the company is rooting for financial literacy as one of the key drivers of its growth. At present, Sharekhan has a partnership with California-based education company Online Trading Academy and runs courses and workshops for those interested in learning trading and investment. However, in their new avatar, these courses will go digital, to cater to a wider audience.
“The future will be founded in education. In India, financial literacy is not that much. These workshops help in making choices on buying/selling stocks. You can invest in a protected environment with someone guiding you,” Sharekhan director Varun Sridhar told Express.
Currently, for this purpose, Sharekhan has a centre in Mumbai. The company will soon be opening centres in Bengaluru and Delhi, he added.
The new digital courses will be “plug and play”, bit-sized programmes to make it easy for those who want to get a hang of investing and trading. Half of the customers are less than 28 years old, while one-fourth of are less than 25 years of age, he said, emphasising the need for going digital with the courses.
The new website will have a Robo advisor, which will give customised recommendations to the customer based on their investment goals.
Sharekhan is present in 575 cities through 2,200 franchisees and has branches in 92 cities.
While at the moment, it is in the top three in their segment, the aim is to get to the second position, according to Sridhar. He added that the company is in the process of partnering with a leading publishing house’s investing app. However, he did not wish to divulge further details.