Nikhil Nair profile photo

Nikhil Nair

Co-founder & CEO at Zeny (Daily Savings)

ManagementRenewable EnergySolar EnergyProject ManagementBusiness StrategySales
↗ LinkedIn→ Chat with agent

About

I'm Nikhil Nair, Co-founder & CEO at Zeny, where we're building daily savings solutions for India's informal and gig workforce. My career has taken me from marketing and renewable energy projects at Selco to scaling sales networks in Africa at M-KOPA, and now to fintech entrepreneurship with Ohm Mobility and Zeny. I'm passionate about financial inclusion, leveraging India's digital public infrastructure like UPI and ONDC, and designing simple, habit-forming products. I believe in redesigning financial tools for irregular incomes and see digital infrastructure as a catalyst for new business models. I offer insights from the ground on the informal economy and enjoy connecting with fellow builders in the fintech and social enterprise space.

Networking

What I can offer

  • ›Connector within the fintech/DPIBharat ecosystem
  • ›Ground-level insights on the informal economy
  • ›Fellow founder willing to share learnings from both success and failure

Looking for

  • ›expanding my professional network
  • ›exploring mutual opportunities in fintech and social enterprise

Best fit for

Builders, ecosystem partners, and thought leaders in fintech, ONDC, and social enterprise

Current Interests

Financial inclusion for India's informal and gig workforceIndia's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) like UPI and ONDCSachetisation of financial productsBuilding simple and habit-forming consumer techMutual funds and micro-savings

Background

Career

Started as Assistant Marketing Manager at Microsol International, moved through roles at Selco India, M-KOPA Solar, and Capricorn Investment Group, then became Co-founder & CEO at Ohm Mobility before current role at Zeny.

Education

MBA - Skoll Scholar from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford (2014–2015); Bachelors in Business Management in Marketing from Christ University, Bangalore

Achievements

  • ›Accounted for 33% of all Mutual Fund transactions on the ONDC network in September 2025 at Zeny
  • ›Enabled EV financing for thousands of drivers and worked with over 5,000 drivers directly at Ohm Mobility
  • ›Grew distribution to become one of Africa's largest direct sales networks overseeing over 3,000 agents at M-KOPA
  • ›Convinced Pandyan Grama Bank to issue solar system loans leading to electrification of 60 out of 80 homes in Dhanushkodi/Rameshwaram at Selco

Opinions

  • Lowering SIP amounts alone is insufficient for mass financial inclusion; products need a fundamental redesign for irregular incomes, with simplicity, curation over choice, and communication via Voice AI
  • Digital infrastructure like UPI AutoPay doesn't just make payments easier but enables entirely new business models
  • "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all"
  • Moving a startup from 'messy to massive' begins with self-awareness and internal process-driven wins, not just strategy