Dr. Ravi Modani
Pioneering Tech-Led Factoring in India
Founder, MD & CEO, 121 Finance (India’s largest NBFC-Factor for MSMEs) | Board Member, Factors Association of India
A key contributor in OCEN and Digital Public Infrastructure initiatives like GeM Sahay, redefining the credit access for small businesses.
India's Factoring Evolution Story by Dr. Ravi Modani
International Factoring Association
India's Factoring Evolution: A Regulatory-Led Growth Story
A look at how factoring in India has moved from an unregulated, contract-driven market to a distinctly regulatory-led growth story — shaped by the Factoring Regulation Act, RBI oversight, and a digital public infrastructure that now sets India apart globally.
Read the article
Webinar
India’s Factoring Evolution – Regulations & Digital Public Infrastructure
Dr. Modani unpacks how India’s regulatory milestones and Digital Public Infrastructure — from GSTN to TReDS — are together reshaping factoring and working capital access for MSMEs.
Watch the webinar
Dr. Ravi Modani — Founder, MD & CEO, 121 Finance
Working capital is a hidden asset — and managing it is an art
Dr. Ravi Modani holds a doctorate in Working Capital Management — one of the few voices in Indian finance who has studied working capital as deeply as he has practised it. His conviction is simple: working capital isn’t a line on a balance sheet, it’s a hidden asset most businesses never learn to use.
That conviction became 121 Finance, India’s first NBFC-Factor, built specifically to unlock working capital trapped in unpaid invoices — a problem MSMEs face more acutely, and more often, than any other segment of the economy.
He is a regular keynote speaker at industry summits, business schools, and founder communities on working capital, factoring, and MSME finance, translating a doctoral-level understanding of liquidity into practical playbooks that MSMEs and growing businesses can actually act on.
View ProfileMSME Advocacy
My Sweat Is My Equity — an initiative for India’s MSMEs
For most MSME founders, there is no venture capital, no family office, and no cushion of collateral — only their own labour, put in day after day, long before a bank will call it credit-worthy. Dr. Ravi Modani built MSME — My Sweat Is My Equity to say that plainly, and to do something about it.
The initiative campaigns for a simple idea: a founder’s effort and track record should count as real equity when formal finance decides who gets access to capital. In practice, that means awareness drives that demystify factoring and working capital finance for first-generation entrepreneurs, sessions that walk MSMEs through digital public infrastructure such as OCEN and Account Aggregator, and sustained advocacy with regulators and industry bodies to keep the unorganised sector on the policy agenda.
Speaking on MSME growth, 6th Rajasthan MSME Summit — FICCI, Jaipur
Area of Expertise
Factoring Finance
Turning unpaid invoices into working capital.
OCEN Ecosystem
Open digital infrastructure applied to lending.
MSME Financing
Credit access for small and mid-sized enterprises.
Working Capital Finance
Structuring liquidity for growing businesses.
Supply Chain Finance
Embedding finance across buyer-supplier trade.
Financial Inclusion
Bringing formal credit to the unorganised sector.
Recent Events
A look at recent keynotes, panels, and fireside chats.
TiE Global Summit
The Investor’s Lens: From Early Bets to Scale
NBFC Tomorrow Conclave
Leadership: Traditional Wisdom with Modern Intelligence
Rajasthan MSME Summit
Unlocking the Growth Potential for MSMEs
ELECRAMA
Accelerating Towards a Clean & Sustainable Energy Transition
TiE Kolkata
Working Capital: The Lifeblood of Every Business
SKIT
The Art of Managing Risk
Vinod Kothari Consultants
12th Securitisation Summit on "Debut of Innovative Transaction Structures: Issuers Perspective"
WASH
WASH Lending - Guidelines, Opportunities and Challenges
Insights
Featured articles
Webinars
India's Factoring Evolutio
Dr. Modani unpacks how India’s regulatory milestones and Digital Public Infrastructure — from GSTN to TReDS — are together reshaping factoring and working capital access for MSMEs.
Watch on YouTube
OCEN & Account Aggregator
Building India’s digital public infrastructure for credit
Watch on YouTube
Leadership Lessons from Building 121 Finance
What it takes to build India’s first NBFC-Factor
Watch on YouTube
Navigating Working Capital as a Startup
Practical playbooks for founders managing cash flow
Watch on YouTube
NBFC Regulations: What Founders Need to Know
Making sense of the revised Factoring Regulations
Watch on YouTube
Cash Flow Management for Growing Businesses
Turning working capital into a growth lever, not a constraint
Watch on YouTube
In Conversation: The MSME Credit Gap
A discussion on closing India’s MSME financing gap
Watch on YouTubeRavi’s LinkedIn Articles
Working Capital, MSMEs & more
MSME Finance: We Are Reading the Satellite Map. It’s Time to Walk the Street
ReadWhich #AI War Is This: America–Iran or Artificial Intelligence?
ReadThe Economic Power of Culture: How Global Cultural Habits Influence GDP Growth
ReadRBI’s “NBFC Regulation — Looking Ahead”: NBFC Ver 2.0
ReadCircular Loop of Decision Making: Short Term, Medium Term, and Long Term
ReadRavi's Quotes Featured in Media
“Regulation towards a brighter, more trustworthy future for all parties involved – whether it is the lender or the borrower, or LSPs. The regulation and guidelines of Digital Lending through online platforms and mobile phones have brought in a sense of security and faith amongst the lenders and the borrowers.”
“Bank credit to MSMEs has become difficult, but they can tap options like Factoring Finance, trade credit, cash credit, BNPL, Purchase Finance and business loan.”
Awards & Recognition
Recognised for innovation and impact
Distinguished NBFC Award
- Supply Chain Transformation
- Best Design Thinking Initiative
- Best New Product Initiative
- MSME Digital Transformer
Recognised at the NBFC’s Tomorrow Conclave for transforming supply chain finance through technology-led, tech-first factoring under the leadership of Dr. Ravi Modani.
Gallery
On stage
A selection from recent keynotes, panels and fireside chats.
Keynote address
Conference sessionNBFC Tomorrow Conclave, panel
12th Securitisation Summit, panel
Fireside chat
Tally 38th Founder's Day
TiE, Fostering Entrepreneurship
Speaking engagement
Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kharagpur6th Rajasthan MSME SummitDr. Ravi Modani speaking, NBFC Tomorrow Conclave
TiE Global Fest panel discussion
Panel session on MSME financeSpeaking at a startup conference
TiE Kolkata engagement