In a significant development for India’s agri-fintech landscape, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has acquired a 10% stake in 24×7 Moneyworks Consulting, a Vadodara-based startup operating the digital credit platform eKisanCredit (eKCC). This marks NABARD’s first-ever equity investment in a bootstrapped startup and signals the bank’s deepening commitment to fostering digital innovation in the rural credit ecosystem.
A Milestone for Agri-Fintech and NABARD
Founded in 2018 by Ranjeet Gautam, 24×7 Moneyworks Consulting has focused on bridging rural financial gaps through technology-enabled credit platforms. Its flagship product, eKisanCredit (eKCC), offers a fully digitized loan origination and processing system tailored for cooperative banks, primary agricultural credit societies (PACS), and regional rural banks (RRBs).
By acquiring a minority stake, NABARD has taken a decisive step towards institutionalizing digital-first approaches in agricultural financing. This investment also positions NABARD as a proactive stakeholder in startup-led rural transformation.
Why NABARD Chose 24×7 Moneyworks
NABARD has identified 24×7 Moneyworks as a strategic fit for its mission. The eKCC platform integrates with land records, Aadhaar, eKYC systems, core banking software, and ePACS (electronic Primary Agricultural Credit Society systems). This interoperability enables end-to-end automation of rural loan workflows, significantly reducing time, cost, and manual errors.
NABARD Chairman Shaji KV praised the platform’s performance. He stated, “eKCC has demonstrated the potential to improve access, transparency, and efficiency in dispensing agricultural credit. This strategic collaboration will help cooperative banks, PACS, and RRBs deliver faster, more inclusive credit services to small and marginal farmers.”
Over the past two years, NABARD has piloted the eKCC platform across several rural banks, evaluating its effectiveness and scalability. These pilot programs validated eKCC’s ability to reduce bottlenecks in loan approval and disbursement. Encouraged by the outcomes, NABARD decided to support the platform’s nationwide rollout.
The Role of eKCC in Rural Lending Transformation
India’s rural credit system depends heavily on cooperative banks and PACS, yet these institutions often face operational inefficiencies and manual bottlenecks. Traditional processes involve lengthy documentation, physical verification, and delays that discourage timely credit access for farmers.
eKCC addresses these challenges by digitizing the entire rural credit lifecycle. The platform automates:
- Farmer onboarding and verification through Aadhaar-based eKYC
- Land ownership validation through integration with state land records
- Loan origination and eligibility analysis
- Real-time underwriting and risk profiling
- Digital document execution and disbursement
Farmers benefit from faster approvals and disbursements, while banks reduce turnaround time and compliance burdens. The platform also provides dashboards for real-time monitoring, loan tracking, and reporting.
By delivering these benefits, eKCC improves financial inclusion for small and marginal farmers, many of whom remain underserved due to procedural and informational asymmetries.
AIFIS: Another Leap in Tech-Driven Governance
Alongside the eKCC investment, NABARD has developed another digital platform known as AIFIS (Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Interest Subvention). AIFIS manages interest subvention claims for banks under the government’s Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) program.
Banks use AIFIS to:
- Validate farmer infrastructure loan eligibility in real time
- Upload disbursement and utilization records
- Submit interest subvention claims
- Track status and approval timelines
AIFIS reduces delays and errors in subsidy disbursal, promoting accountability and timely benefit transfer. With both eKCC and AIFIS, NABARD builds a digitally governed credit ecosystem that operates efficiently and equitably.
Empowering the Last Mile
Founder and CEO Ranjeet Gautam emphasized the human-centered design approach behind 24×7 Moneyworks’ solutions. “This partnership validates our mission to build tech-driven, inclusive credit infrastructure for rural India. Our solutions are designed with empathy for last-mile users,” he stated.
Gautam and his team built eKCC after studying operational pain points faced by cooperative bankers and farmers alike. Their approach combines intuitive user interfaces, vernacular language support, mobile-first workflows, and integrations with legacy systems. These features help field agents and farmers adopt digital processes with minimal friction.
The platform’s modular design also allows custom configuration for different states and financial institutions, enabling rapid deployment at scale.
Strategic Implications of the Investment
NABARD’s investment does more than fund a promising startup—it signals a shift in public financial institutions’ approach to innovation. Rather than building from scratch, NABARD now embraces partnerships with agile, founder-led companies capable of rapid innovation.
This move offers several strategic advantages:
- Faster technology adoption at scale through market-ready platforms
- Cost-efficient innovation without reinventing the wheel
- On-ground credibility gained through field-tested products
- Policy feedback loops enabled by real-time data collection
By supporting 24×7 Moneyworks, NABARD also sets a precedent for other government and quasi-government institutions to collaborate with startups and build ecosystem solutions.
What This Means for the Agri-Fintech Sector
India’s agri-fintech space continues to evolve rapidly. Startups like Samunnati, Jai Kisan, and GramCover have built innovative models for agri-credit, insurance, and value chain financing. However, few have tackled the infrastructure challenges inside cooperative banks and PACS as directly as 24×7 Moneyworks has done.
The startup’s bootstrapped journey until now adds credibility, especially in a funding climate where capital efficiency and demonstrated impact matter more than valuation hype.
NABARD’s investment provides not just capital, but also regulatory alignment, stakeholder access, and strategic mentorship. It unlocks a unique scaling opportunity for 24×7 Moneyworks across thousands of cooperative institutions nationwide.
Future Outlook
With NABARD’s backing, 24×7 Moneyworks can:
- Expand its implementation footprint across new geographies
- Enhance its platform capabilities, including AI-driven credit scoring and mobile apps for PACS agents
- Deepen integration with government portals such as PM-KISAN, Jan Dhan, and digital land records
- Strengthen its training and onboarding programs for rural banking staff
The startup also plans to build analytics dashboards for policymakers to monitor rural credit flows and identify intervention opportunities.
Meanwhile, NABARD will continue to play the role of an ecosystem builder, using capital and strategic influence to accelerate financial inclusion through technology.
Conclusion
By investing in 24×7 Moneyworks Consulting, NABARD has championed a new era in agricultural lending—one that combines the credibility of traditional institutions with the agility of startups. eKCC now stands at the center of this transformation, digitizing rural credit and bringing transparency, speed, and dignity to millions of smallholder farmers.
This partnership demonstrates how thoughtful innovation, grounded in local realities, can change the face of Indian agriculture—not just with credit, but with confidence and trust.