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Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 41 – The Challenges of Taking Startups Public in India with Madhurima Mukherjee

Madhurima Mukherjee heads the J Sagar Associates law firm’s capital markets division in New Delhi. She has over two decades of experience in securities offerings in domestic and international markets, including initial public offerings (IPOs), further offers, rights offers, qualified institutional placements, and block trades.

Sometimes referred to as India’s “queen of capital markets,” Madhurima has been involved in some of the country’s highest-profile capital-raising efforts, including the 2010 Coal India IPO, which eventually raised over US$2.5 billion and remains one of India’s largest IPOs.

Before joining JSA, she was a Senior Partner at AZB & Partners until April 2020. She also worked with Luthra & Luthra as a national head and partner until 2013, and before that, she was a partner at the firm of Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co., as a partner until 2006.

Madhurima had taken credit courses and some seminars in Capital Markets at The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences and National Law School, New Delhi.

Given that India is currently in a solid growth mode compared to much of the world, it’s no surprise that such an environment has birthed a budding startup scene. Indeed, in the three-plus decades since the Indian economy liberalized, even more young entrepreneurs have arrived on the scene, many with dreams of becoming publicly listed companies via the IPO route. Yet, as a developing nation, myriad challenges remain for startups seeking public listings in India, which Madhurima delineates in her chat with Regulatory Ramblings host Ajay Shamdasani in this episode.

She discusses how she found her way in the legal profession, her passion for working with startups, and the challenges they face in India beyond those of legal, regulatory, financial/liquidity, and managerial issues.

Madhurima stresses the challenges of getting and retaining talent and the degree of governmental support—or the lack thereof—in the form of red tape, tax, and support programs that Indian startups face.

The conversation concludes with her views on how the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI)—the country’s capital markets watchdog—can improve securities and listing rules to facilitate startups’ public offerings.

Podcast Discussion:

2:47 Charting New Paths: A Woman’s Journey in India’s Evolving Corporate Landscape
5:31 From Fax Machines to Specialized Expertise: Navigating India’s Corporate Evolution
9:58 Growing Up Global: India’s Corporate Landscape
14:30 Challenges for Indian Startups in Public Markets: Market Sentiment, Valuations, and Regulatory Hurdles
2329 Balancing Regulation and Innovation: The Tricky Landscape of Public Markets for Indian Startups
37:26 Early Stage Essentials: The Importance of Corporate Governance and Capital Structure for Startups
44:14 Startup Market Sentiment in India: Overvaluation, Saturation, and Regulatory Uncertainties
51:16 Deciphering India’s Business Landscape, The Need for a Secondary Market for Startups

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Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 40 – Super Apps, FemTech and Financial Resilience with Neha Mehta

Neha Mehta is a member of the Department of Mathematics at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She also teaches in that institution’s Master of Science program in FinTech.

Her work with SG Women in Tech demonstrates her interests in financial inclusion, using FinTech to achieve it, climate sustainability, innovating for a blue economy and greener future, and encouraging more women to enter the tech industry.

Neha is also a FinTech lawyer, former diplomat, and social entrepreneur. She authorized a new book called “One Stop” on Super Apps.

As she points out, new software applications are churned daily to respond to people’s needs. “Super Apps,” she says, allow users to access several services from one application. Super Apps like Grab and WeChat are gaining popularity, and tech giants and FinTechs want to stake their claim in this digital revolution. In “One Stop,” Neha traces the history of Super Apps. She analyses the cultural differences in their adoption and popularity—and, in some cases, the lack thereof—in the East versus the West. Through stories of well-known Super Apps and in-depth interviews with central banks, entrepreneurs, and FinTech industry experts, Neha’s book illustrates how the Super App revolution disrupts, innovates, and creates opportunities.

With the COVID-19 pandemic as a background highlighting the need to move to digital platforms, “One Stop” also examines how Super Apps can potentially create an inclusive and sustainable world for all in an increasingly digital future.

With that as a launching pad, Neha shares with Regulatory Ramblings host Ajay Shamdasani about her upbringing in Bangalore, how she first became interested in matters of financial inclusion, climate sustainability, the green economy, and women in tech, and what she sees as the interconnections between them—namely, economic growth and good stewardship of the planet.

The discussion also delves into creating talent pools in the tech entrepreneur and/or corporate realms to see more women at the decision-making table in boardrooms. A key part of the equation, Neha says, is getting more females enrolled in STEM subjects earlier in life. In that vein, she stresses the need for policy frameworks incentivizing parents of young girls to send them to schools focused on how they can be software engineers or enter the emergent fields of artificial intelligence or data management.

She draws on her experiences to share her views about Singapore’s tech ecosystem and entrepreneurial environment. In 2019, Neha set up FemTech Partners to represent women in tech, especially in the fintech space. The focus was on how to make them financially resilient and receive the pro bono mentorship they need.

The conversation includes Neha’s thoughts on being a member of the NTU math faculty and a summary of her book’s key conclusions, observations, and policy recommendations.

Podcast Discussion:

03:27 – Unveiling the Super App Revolution: From Cultural Shifts to Financial Inclusion
10:14 – Journey from India to Singapore: Navigating Discrimination, Legal Empowerment, and Financial Inclusion
14:32 – Adapting to Tech Evolution and Embracing Change
31:36 – Striving for a Level Playing Field: Empowering Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship
43:12 – What do you celebrate on International Women’s Day?
45:41 – Singapore’s Success Recipe: Infrastructure, Talent, Capital, and Ecosystem Synergy
53:07 – Empowering Through Education: Fintech’s Role in Learning, Teaching, and Financial Inclusion
55:03 – Empowering Foreign Domestic Workers: Fintech Solutions for Financial Inclusion in Unbanked Communities
58:23 – Super Apps and Financial Resilience: Navigating Data Privacy, Consumer Protection, and Cybersecurity
1:03:29 – Lessons for Young Professionals on Career Flexibility and Resilience

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