Financialising India is easier said than done. Ever growing equity chasm makes it look like Mission impossible. But a handful of young highly motivated orators armed with the power of social media are working overtime to make India financially literate. There are early positive results even as the challenge is enormous.
Their core strength is the ability to speak the common man’s language and social media platforms are simply loving it. The ecosystem too is keen to embrace this communication breakthrough.
The bonus is that the literacy drive is being run by a bunch of youngsters – men and women – who have tapped into the Covid induced fear of the unknown. To mitigate this fear, these social media warriors are mainstreaming personal finance agenda for the millennial. In turn the Millennial love them.
The pandemic beating performance of the Sensex with record retail inflows both into equities as also mutual funds shows the magic is slowly working.
Parth Gurjar, 25, was fired from his job at an advertising firm in Noida. He went back to his native place in Gujarat and decided to pump up his father’s dying business.
An avid social media user, Gurjar decided to invest in mutual funds and also build an emergency corpus after following personal finance influencer Pranjal Kamra on Instagram. He realised that personal finance management was easy and interesting when consumed on social media.
The irreverent generation would rather follow social media than blindly heed parents preaching on money matters. Step in You Tube, Instagram and Twitter and interest levels turn robust.
Well, Gurjar has company. Many initially reluctant youngsters have found financial advisory refuge through these social media money influencers as they offer a touch of quirk in their content. This makes personal finance appealing and very much in demand. Today, our country boasts of some mindful talents in the world of personal finance. They play the financial literacy game gaining a new found stardom for themselves.
There are two primary requirements for a purpose driven initiative to succeed. A great message and an even better messenger. The key to the success of personal finance influencers in India lies in their fine understanding of the audience and their needs. Meet the personal finance champions.
Pranjal Kamra
Pranjal Kamra, 28, is amongst the top financial experts in the country. He began making YouTube videos to explain stock market investing and mutual funds.
Kamra on Money9
On various occasions when Kamra was interviewed on Money9, he reiterated the importance of investment as it would lead to long term wealth generation, “Investing should be practised just like any sports – the key to its success lies in discipline and patience. They work wonders when adhered to consistently.”
CA Rachana Phadke Ranade
CA Rachana Phadke Ranade is yet another socioverse stalwart who makes personal finance videos on YouTube. She was a well accomplished chartered accountant who chose to work towards a larger goal of financial literacy in India.
Ranade on Money9
“I taught CA and MBA students for over 10 years. But one day, I stumped upon a news article that highlighted our country’s extremely poor rate of financial literacy. It was devastating and I decided to contribute my bit for financial penetration in India. Two year back, I turned to YouTube and started producing video content with a desire to serve my country in any way possible. The journey and response has been unbelievable,” Ranade told Money9.
Anant Ladha
Anant Ladha, founder of popular YouTube channel Invest Aaj For Kal, is a chartered accountant, certified financial planner and LL.B is a motivational speaker and personal finance influencer. He is known for giving smart investing tips that help audience take good money decisions.
Ladha on Money9
“I treat my audience like an extended family and try to give tips that are well tested. Since I always endorse ideas that I genuinely believe and practise, the viewers sense the conviction in my suggestions. You have to take accountability of your content on social media. Once the audience realises that you’re credible, they take you seriously,” Ladha told Money9.
Other names buzzing in the world of personal finance online include the likes of Ankur Warikoo (co-founder at Nearbuy), Anushka Rathod and Sharan Hegde among others. You must check out their content on Instagram and YouTube to finally meltdown financial jargons in its native form.
May there be more power to the tribe as it grows. Money9 celebrates their journey as co-passengers in its agenda to financialise India.
Needless to reiterate that the ultimate decision to invest should be taken under expert advice and after due diligence.
