INDIA'S FIRST Listed & HIGHEST CREDIT RATED GOLD LOAN COMPANY

Shri V.P. Nandakumar is the Chairman of the Manappuram Group of companies based at Valapad, Thrissur. This Group of nine companies has diversified interests in gold loans, asset financing, insurance, foreign exchange, money changing, gold jewellery, healthcare etc. Its flagship, Manappuram Finance Limited (MAFIL) is India's first listed, highest credit rated and the most successful gold loan company.

The Group's origins go back to 1949 when it was founded in Valapad by the late V.C. Padmanabhan, father of Shri Nandakumar. Its activity was mainly money lending carried out on a modest scale. The principal asset of the company was the integrity and foresight of its Founder and, among the people of the area, it soon acquired a reputation as a safe-haven for their investments. Shri Nandakumar took over the reins of this one Branch business in the year 1986 under unfortunate circumstances. He was then comfortably placed as an officer in the erstwhile Nedungadi Bank when his father expired. As the only son, he was faced with a dilemma—whether to continue in the Bank and wind up the family business or to quit the bank and take up the reins of the family business. It is one of history's fortunate coincidences that he chose to listen to that inner voice in him that urged him to take forward the family business painstakingly built up over the years by his father.

The breathtaking growth
Since then, it has been a story of unparalleled growth, with new milestones being crossed every year. And Shri Nandakumar's leadership has been instrumental in scripting the story. Manappuram Finance Limited was established in 1992 (the original name was Manappuram General Finance and Leasing Limited) and, in a short span of time it became the first NBFC from Kerala to get a Certificate of Registration issued by the Reserve Bank of India; one of the very first NBFCs from Kerala to go for a public issue; the first NBFC from Kerala to issue bonus shares in the ratio 1:1 in 2007 (and then, repeat the feat twice in 2010 and 2011), the first Kerala based NBFC to receive Foreign Institutional Investment (in 2007), and to obtain the highest short term credit rating of A1+ from ICRA and P1+ from CRISIL. Recently, it became only the second listed company from Kerala to have its shares traded in the A-Group at the Bombay stock exchange.

Today, thanks to the vision and drive of Shri Nandakumar, and the team of professionals he has assembled around him, MAFIL is a pan-India presence with over 2,500 branches across 22 Indian states and more than 18,000 employees on its rolls. The company has Assets under Management (AUM) exceeding Rs.10,000 crores and a live customer base of over twelve lakhs.

The community is central

Besides focus on the business, the cause of the wider community is also central to his long term vision. The establishment in October 2009 of the Manappuram Foundation at Valapad has given concrete shape to the Group’s commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility. Its first initiative was an original scheme providing health insurance to 20,000 Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in the seven Panchayats of the Nattika assembly constituency. They are now eligible for free medical care up to Rs.60,000 per year along with cashless treatment at some of the leading hospitals in Thrissur District. Recently, the foundation has launched a novel outreach programme aimed at empowering women belonging to the weaker sections of the coastal belt of Thrissur Dist. The project given the name “Manappuram Sarojini Padmanabhan Women Empowerment Programme”, will provide livelihood to disadvantaged women by opening up opportunities for self-employment in areas like organic cultivation of vegetables, dairy & poultry farming, home enterprise etc.

Shri V.P. Nandakumar was born in 1954 and holds a post graduate degree in science with additional qualifications in Banking and Foreign Trade. He is a recipient of many awards and recognitions: