Democratising debt: Can online bond platforms replicate the success of Zerodha, Groww?

When Nikhil Agarwal co-founded Grip Invest in 2020, the online bond trading space was the Wild West. Not regulated under any framework, bond platforms were free to push both listed and unlisted debt securities to their users.

At the time, debt investments were largely inaccessible both for retail investors as well as companies looking to raise capital. This is something that Agarwal, an investment banker-turned-entrepreneur saw firsthand during his career.

“We saw there were many high-quality companies that required debt investment but found it incredibly hard to raise money from banks. At the same time, there were many individual investors who wanted high returns but didn’t like the volatility of the stock market,” recounts Agarwal.

Agarwal, the CEO of Grip Invest, along with his co-founders Aashish Jindal and Vivek Gulati, began the platform as a way to match companies looking for debt investments with individual investors. In its first year of existence, shares Agarwal, the platform facilitated a cool Rs 100 crore in investment.