Hi, my name is Jamil Akhtar. I’m the founder of a fintech startup called Quikkloan that helps salaried individuals build their credit score and get loans. I’ve been in the finance industry for the past 13 years and I would’ve probably made partner in a company had I not quit to start my own venture, but I love what I’m doing. The idea of Quikkloan came to me during my first job after MBA, as an investment analyst in 2006.
I always loved solving a problem and during that time, I noticed how young adults were struggling to get even the smallest of loans from banks. I wanted to solve that. But I was inexperienced at the time, so I decided to do exactly that - get experience. The first job is where I learnt most. I had refused a job with a higher salary package and joined this company, with the sole purpose of learning. I changed jobs thrice in a span of 6 years before starting my own consultancy and moving to Dubai. I honed my skills in financial and credit analysis, valuations, industry research, investment advisory and a whole lot more before starting Quikkloan 5 years back. Every time an investor rejected me; I always went back to what my professor told me during my college days - ‘Either convince or get convinced’.
In my many years of pitching to several investors and finally getting a few onboard, I’ve learnt it is best to keep it simple. No one likes jargon. No one likes not understanding something completely. Keeping it simple is the most difficult thing to do. And that’s what I intend to do with Quikkloan. If I had to sum it up in the minimum number of words, it is - A digital loan marketplace for salaried individuals.