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Alumnus Lauded for “Hottest Start-up” in India
Adhil Shetty (MIA '05), founder and CEO of BankBazaar.com, was working at Deloitte when he and his brother Arjun decided to go back to India to start a company providing mortgage loans and other financial services online.
"We started a couple years ago just with an idea and a laptop," Shetty says. "We wanted Indians to be able to get the best deals on different loans and insurance products."
Based in Chennai, today the company has a staff of 30 and serves more than 500,000 customers per month. The TV network CNBC Awaaz recently selected BankBazaar.com as one of its top five business ideas and featured the company on its show, “CNBC Entrepreneur.” 
(Hindi)
The magazine Business Today also profiled the company as one of "India's Hottest Start-Ups."
By handling loans online, BankBazaar.com simplifies complicated lending procedures and reduces costs to consumers. The company's website promises the "lowest loan rates, instantly."
Shetty says that his SIPA education helped him launch the company. One of his SIPA professors, Dr. Arvind Panagariya, served as an initial adviser and put Shetty in touch with Indian investors. Shetty adds that he learned many skills on the job, but SIPA provided him with a global perspective and a business credential that is valuable in making new contacts.
BankBazaar.com is benefitting from a rapidly growing home mortgage market in India. According to Shetty, the market is expected to grow at a rate of 25 percent per year for the next decade.
Tim Shenk, 09/26/2010