Ganesh Rengaswamy is managing partner at Quona Capital, based in Bangalore. His VC firm has just raised a fund focused on fintech in emerging markets.

Rengaswamy speaks with Jame DiBiasio about why invest in fintech now, making decisions in the new macro environment, and what fintech business models look attractive – and which do not.

He also discusses how fintech can scale across the region, the importance of public digital infrastructure, and the rewards of backing companies that drive financial inclusion.

• Timecodes:
• 0:00 – Ganesh Rengaswamy, Quona Capital
• 1:45 – Why raise a fintech fund, and why now
• 4:05 – Standalone versus embedded fintech use cases
• 6:41 – Opportunities in the new macro environment
• 9:14 – Attractive early-stage fintech business models
• 15:30 – Unattractive business models 
• 19:47 – Investing in digital banks
• 20:51 – Hard tech/IP versus business model innovation in fintech
• 24:13 – Impact of public digital infrastructure
• 27:59 – Scaling fintech businesses internationally
• 29:23 – Making money via financial inclusion strategies