How Georgian fintech conquers Indian and Philippine markets. Interview with Kernel co-founder

06 July, 2022, 17:00 349
How Georgian fintech conquers Indian and Philippine markets. Interview with Kernel co-founder

Kernel is a Tbilisi-based developer of a platform with invoicing and financial tools for small businesses and freelancers. This fintech startup has already acquired more than 45,000 users in Georgia, the Philippines, and India. At the beginning of June, Kernel raised $30,000 at a popular pitch show in the US called Shark Tank.

AIN.Capital talked to Beka Dalakishvili, co-founder and CEO of Kernel, about the startup’s idea, product features, and ambitious plans that include further digital financial tools development and scaling into Pakistan and Nigerian markets.

kernel

What is the idea behind Kernel? How did you come up with it? 

Kernel is a simple invoicing and financial tools platform that helps small business owners digitize day-to-day operations, automate business processes, and exchange information with accountants.

Interestingly, the idea of ​​Kernel arose from my own needs about two years ago. I am a financier. I have consulted for hundreds of small businesses and worked with dozens of accounting teams. At the time of founding the startup, I was in charge of the financial department in one of the holding companies and faced the problem of communication and information exchange between the holding companies and accountants. Small businesses face so many challenges that the idea we created to solve our own problem gradually turned into a startup idea.

As it turned out, Georgia is not the only developing country with similar issues. We started researching and found that the problem is much more pronounced in large, developing countries: the Philippines and India, where the government is encouraging businesses to become digital in light of revised tax regulations. However, it is also interesting to note that no simple invoicing platform was found for these markets.

Along the way, we obtained several significant grants. We added a lot of effort, work, and enthusiasm, which led us to a flexible, stable platform today and even to enter international markets.

What kind of pain points does the startup cover?

For non-financial managers / small entrepreneurs, financial management is challenging; assessing the business’s financial condition at any time and controlling customer debt is a prerequisite for making the right decisions. Still, unfortunately, small businesses do not have the luxury of having separate finance departments. In addition, gathering reliable and complete information or documentation for accountants is always a headache, but it is necessary for tax returns and preparing reports. Consequently, inadequate accounting information and the mechanisms for exchanging this information pose a problem for both businesses and accountants. It was to solve these problems that Kernel was created.

Switching to digital platforms is a long and painful process for those who manage their finances using traditional methods. We have faced these challenges in India and the Philippines as well. At the moment, we are actively trying to facilitate the digitization process and appropriately benefit consumers, so they can better evolve.

In addition, the frequent need for dialogue with locals has posed significant difficulties. Getting Indian and Filipino customers interested in cooperating with us was challenging. This was also mainly due to the cultural gap, which made us realize that we need to better get to know the locals’ culture and values to communicate with them more easily. We are already working on this challenge with an international team in India and the Philippines. Local representatives help us in collaborating with potential customers.

Tell us please a bit more about your product. How does it work? 

Kernel’s main advantage is GST-compliant invoicing, which simplifies the lives of our customers. In addition, with the help of Kernel Tools, you can:

  • Choose from professional templates — Invoice with style;
  • Set up automated reminders for overdue invoices;
  • Create recurring invoices;
  • Create invoices in multiple currencies;
  • Manage all your customers in one place-save their information and keep a customer base;
  • Control the payment statuses of all your invoices in one space;
  • Use insightful reports.
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