"Goal is to solve financial accessibility in India"... 10 years of business insights revealed by Append CEO Lee Cheol-won

The business strategy and organizational management methods of Append, which has grown by targeting the financially underserved amidst the massive growth of the Indian market, have been revealed. In this conversation reported by EO Korea, the trials and errors experienced while operating a business in India for 10 years and a management philosophy tailored to the local culture were covered.

'Massnich' strategy aimed at 120 million people without credit cards

Append CEO Lee Cheol-won highly evaluates the growth potential of the Indian market and defined the market the company focuses on as 'Massnich'. This refers to a market that may look like a niche market but is actually massive. Lee mentioned that the number of credit card holders in India is around 120 million, stating that they are targeting the remaining population that cannot use the loan services of the banking sector as their core target.

Initially, Append started as a service that helped check balances and assist with recharging before the payment stage, and then expanded its scope to utility bill payment services such as electricity, water, and gas. In the past, in India, there was the inconvenience where office workers had to take leave or pay a third party a fee to run errands to pay utility bills, but the company entered the market by establishing an environment where payments can be made in one minute with just a smartphone. However, he explained that they experienced a problem where payment users did not naturally convert into loan users, leading them to establish a new customer recruitment strategy through data analysis.

In this process, rather than competing with existing large payment companies, Append is focusing on providing specialized credit services for those not included in the financial sector. Lee mentioned that the process of receiving bank loans in India is very difficult and that there is a risk of corruption, and he cited solving the problem of financial accessibility as the biggest task to achieve the company's mission of 'Finance for All'.

"You must understand India"... Organizational management that overcame cultural differences

The cultural conflicts experienced during the process of transitioning from a Korea-centered organization to an India-centered organization and the efforts to overcome them were also shared. Lee emphasized that understanding the organizational culture of India is the core of the business. In particular, he mentioned that Indian members value the process of reaching a perfect consensus through discussion, which can make the decision-making process longer than in Korea.

Lee explained a management style that respects local culture, saying, "If a company does business in India, it must understand India and become Indianized." To this end, they actively invested in the Indian recruitment market, and to secure excellent manpower, they even utilized the 'Love Bomb' method where recruiters directly visit the local area to recruit talent. Currently, a significant portion of Append's engineering workforce consists of top-level local talent.

Belief in market size and growth potential, and partnerships

Regarding the timing of founding and the spirit of challenge, Lee stated that he makes decisions based on three criteria: market size, growth speed, and maturity. He added that once the value that can be obtained by solving fundamental market problems is confirmed, it is important to maintain that belief. Furthermore, he emphasized that he acknowledges that a business cannot be sustained alone and that meeting good partners is a key factor for success.

The corporate non-fiction book 『Massnich Survival』 (written by Lee Gi-mun), which contains Append's 10-year journey of challenge and trial and error, was recently published and is expected to provide practical information to those dreaming of entering India.

Source: EO Korea (YouTube)