November - 2007 issue > Cover Story

By Pradeep Shankar

Financial Technologies (FT) is bringing upon a radical change in normally staid exchange markets by combining its next generation technology platform with its operational experience in running exchanges in India and Middle East. With its unique model of taking an equity stake in “new exchanges”, the company is on its way to provide a disruptive change to world exchange markets. Similar to Toyota’s huge bite into the U.S and global markets in the auto sector by providing top quality car at cheaper prices in ‘90s; and LG’s surge into cell phone and TV markets in world in 2000, Financial Technologies wants to zoom itself in bringing the technologically advanced ‘exchanges’. This defines the “world is flat”, where advanced exchange markets which are the core pillar of capitalism are brought to the Africas, Middle East, South Americas of the world by an Indian company whose core values are to make exchange markets more participatory and to unlock the values hidden in assets to make peoples’ life better. If all goes well, millions of people across the globe, who neither had access nor the privilege to participate in financial markets, will be able to do so. A new class of investors will take birth. Simply put, the exchanges that FT will build will empower a farmer in a small village in India, a gold trader in Middle East, a
silver trader in Malaysia, a farmer in Africa to get involved in trading and get better returns for their investments.

A picture of Jignesh Shah is not hard to imagine while reading through the pages of Thomas Friedman’s renowned book ‘The World is Flat’. Friedman, talking about the flat world and its creation of level playing field, explains how “globalization1.0 and 2.0 were driven primarily by European and American individuals and businesses…Globalization 3.0 is going to be more and more driven not only by individuals but also by much more diverse—non-Western, non-white—group of individuals.”
Shah’s flagship company Financial Technologies is into one such 3.0 business of creating software (to exchange-markets) that aspires to democratize trade and economy globally. That too in countries where trading on exchanges has been inherently non-existent or proven to be unviable (Some don’t even have democratic governments). And, for generic commodities like cotton, wheat and coffee that one never thought can be traded in organized ways or for the geo-specific commodities like iron, copper or gold that are never traded in small quantities.

The conviction inside the company is to solve the world’s biggest and quintessential economic conundrum of bridging the producers and consumers for a win-win alliance. But it is surprising and beholding on what prospects does a technology software company hold in reaching out to the masses—especially to the illiterates or the semi-literates farmers trying to trade their produce. And there in is FT’s rather-too-unconventional approach for a software company: full-bundle suite offering platform, technology, processes and operational know-how in building the next generation exchanges.

“Our next generation exchanges are about selling and buying the non-eBay products with an ease like on an eBay platform,” says Shah continuing, “Whatever it takes to create that experience, we shall build.”

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