A Brief History

Commonwealth Inclusive Growth Services Ltd. (CIGS) was registered as a Public Limited Company on 21st January 2008, with a view to bank the vast un-banked and under-banked segments of India, in an economically viable and socially relevant manner, in partnership with eligible entities; CIGS is committed to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by the United Nations.
With a view to leverage its experience in servicing the un-banked and under-banked segments of the society for improving the Insurance penetration, CIGS has become an IRDAI registered Corporate Agent (Composite), which enables it to sell the Life, Health and General Insurance Policies.
Besides focusing on the end-customers, CIGS also supports Deep Tech Companies in the areas of FinTech, HealthTech, AgriTech, EdTech & GreenTech, to contribute towards the success of the mission, Make in India. CIGS makes strategic investments under the Brand Name, ‘Tech Innovations’, and also mentors the Start-ups in this space, which helps promote entrepreneurship.
CIGS Tech Innovations Pvt. Ltd., a Subsidiary of CIGS, is offering end-to-end solution in the Donations space, under the Brand Name ‘Trusted Donations, through its comprehensive, high-tech Donation-as-a-Service (DaaS) Platform. DaaS Platform facilitates Donors to easily identify trusted NGOs / Trusts working for the causes close to their hearts and enables one-time or automated regular Donations, access to periodic progress, etc. For the NGOs / Trusts, the DaaS Platform offers the opportunity to quickly raise donations, hassle-free compliance with regulations, ease of communication with Donors over the progress / developments / new projects, etc.
For the Financial Inclusion / Business Correspondent business, CIGS has partnered directly as well as through the end-to-end Solution Provider(s) with Public Sector, Private Sector and Small Finance Banks.
For the Insurance business, CIGS has partnered with Life and General Insurance Companies, offering Life, Health & General Insurance products.
In the Investment space, Tech Innovations has made investments in Deep Tech Companies individually and also, part of a consortium.

Highlights


• Services well over 6 million customers

• Operates in about 30,000 villages

• Spread across 20+ States and Union Territories

• IRDAI (Insurance Regulator) registered Corporate Agent (Composite)

• Established sound systems & processes

• Well experienced team & Subject Matter Experts

• Excellent Operations Management capability

• Vast experience in Banking & Financial Technology / Retail Payment Solution

• Qualified Investment Bankers
  • Vision


    To bring the majority of the economically active unbanked & uninsured adult population of India into formal banking & insurance system, through appropriate partnerships with Institutions in the BFSI sector and by leveraging emerging technologies and adopting innovative business processes. Nurture deep-tech Startups, to contribute to Make-in-India

  • Mission


    By the end of FY 2025-26, serve at least ten million customers, through a wide network of Business Correspondent & Insurance Agents, offering a whole range of products & services of the partnering Institutions in the BFSI sector, that are relevant to the segment of customers being served. Invest in over a dozen of deep-tech Startups and support in all possible manner for their success.

Commonwealth Inclusive Growth Foudation

Commonwealth Inclusive Growth Foundation (“CIGF”) is a not for profit organisation (Sec 8 company).

CIGF provides not for profit services related to Financial Literacy, Implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects such as Education & Skills training, Affordable Healthcare, Innovation in Agricultural services.

CIGF is aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The SDGs work in the spirit of partnership and pragmatism to make the right choices now to improve life, in a sustainable way, for future generations. They provide clear guidelines and targets for all countries to adopt in accordance with their own priorities and the environmental challenges of the world at large.

The SDGs are an inclusive agenda.

They tackle the root causes of poverty and unite us together to make a positive change for both people and planet.

Where We Work
CIGS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dr. Mohan Kaul – Chairman

Director, ALGLOWTECH LTD , UK

Past role includes Director General of Commonwealth Business Council; Director and senior member of the Commonwealth Secretariat; United Nations adviser; Professor and Dean at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad; Member of the Board of Directors and Chair of Governance Committee of ICICI Bank (UK).
Dr. Kaul has authored a number of publications, including: An Outsider’s Inside View, 2000: From Problem to Solution: Commonwealth Strategies for Reform: Managing the Public Service, 1995, Management Reform in Government: A Review of International Practices and Strategies.
PhD. in Management Science – University of Paris-Sorbonne

Mr. Mahesh Ramachandran – Managing Director & CEO

Director, CIGS Tech Innovations Private Ltd., Skandasashti Holdings Private Ltd., and a few others.

General Partner, Pontaq Ventures India LLP
Member, Governing Council of TiE Chennai
Leadership Council and Programme Management Group Member of FinBlue FinTech Centre of Excellence set up by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India at STPI, Chennai.
Formerly, Head of Strategy & Governance for EMEA in Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), based in UK and India; Head of IT & Business Strategy for Europe in Ford Motor Company; Relationship Manager in Dun & Bradstreet Software Ltd., based in UK and India.
Over three decades of rich experience in Corporate Leadership roles, out of which over 13 years in the areas of Financial Inclusion in India.
MBA from University of Westminster, Sloan Masters in Leadership & Strategy (Distinguished Sloan Fellow of London Business School) from University of London.

Mr. Suresh Ramamurthy – Independent Director

Director, Winnii Solutions Private Ltd.
CFO, Southern Health Foods Private Ltd.
B.Com, ACA., CMA., IP., RV., ID
A Strategic and Senior Management Professional with about three decades of rich experience, handling the roles of Group CFO, COO & CEO and also, business advisory and Virtual CFO services in India and overseas.
Resolution Professional and Valuation Professional of Securities & Financial assets.
B.Com, ACA., CMA., IP., RV., ID .
Trained in Intellectual Property (IPR) Harnessing by IIM (Ahmedabad)
Qualified in Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code – Limited Solvency Examination of IBBI.
Qualified in Registered Valuers Examination of SFA by IBBI.
Registered Independent Director of IICA and qualified the assessment.

Mr. S.V. Krishnamurthy – Independent Director

Co-President (Advisor) of Keiretsu Forum one of the Largest Angel Funding Group in the World , Chennai & Singapore Chapters.
Senior Partner, G Natesan & Co., Chartered Accountants
Advisor, RediSolve Software Services P Ltd.
Swirepay Inc. ( US Board Member )
Proscaler.AI ( US )
Advisor – Vajro Inc & RAP Inc
Chairman of the Board for KRUU Inc.
In 1989, co-founded Professional Management Consultants (P) Ltd. (PMC), considered as one of the best Service Providers in the Banking & Financial Services Industry, acquired by the Sundaram Finance group in 2009.
Had two other successful exits, one each in India and in the Silicon Valley, respectively in the MFI and Indoor GPS space.
Vast experience, encompassing operations of the entire gamut of Retail Consumer Banking, Process Management, Credit Consultancy, Audits and Management Consulting.
B.Com., FCA & FCS
​ Qualified to be an Independent Director on the Boards of Listed and specified big Companies.

Ms. Divya Abhishek – Independent Director

Independent Director on the Boards of Muthoot Capital Services Ltd., Tamil Nadu Steel Tubes Ltd., AVIOM India Housing Finance Pvt. Ltd., and Kwality Milk Food Ltd. Holds the distinction of being the youngest Woman Independent Director on the Board of Listed Companies.
Secretary, Society of Cost Accountants (SOCA)
Treasurer, All India Tax Payers’ Association (AITPA)
First Secretary (Business Development & Trade Relations) to the Honorary Consul of Zambia in South India.
Elected President of Women Empowerment Forum of India (WEFI)
Holds the distinction of being the youngest ever Chairperson of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry Ladies Organisation (FICCI FLO), Chennai for the year 2024- 25.
Holds also the distinction of being the youngest elected Chairperson of Southern India Regional Council of The Institute of Cost Accountants of India for the year 2023-24.
Has been nominated to the Committee constituted for GST for Tamil Nadu & Puducherry. Nominated by the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) for the formulation of syllabus. Also serves on the Board of several colleges, universities and trusts.
Part of the Expert Task Force constituted by Ernst & Young to deal with the impact of New Companies Act, which involved detailed presentations at the offices of various MNC clients.
A Practising Chartered Accountant, having excellent exposure in Government Accounting, MSME Audit, Corporate Law, Corporate Finance & Audit, Taxation and Start-up Consultancy.
B.Com., MBA, LLB, FCA, ACMA, ACS, DIP IFR (ACCA), ADIT (CIOT UK), D.Litt . Best Outgoing Student of Vidya Mandir. Secured All India 46th Rank in the Final Examination of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Secured All India 23rd Rank in the Examination conducted by The Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Secured All India 4th Rank in the ADIT Examination conducted by CIOT UK. Secured First Prize in Economics in the Examination conducted by the Scientific Research Association for Economics and Finance.
Qualified with Distinction in the Proficiency Test for Independent Directors conducted by the Institute of Corporate Affairs.
Received the coveted award from South Asian Federation of Accountants for the BEST WOMAN ACCOUNTING PROFESSIONAL IN ASIA for the year 2024.

Mr. P. Swaminathan – Director & COO

A senior Techno Banker with over four decades of rich & varied experience in the fields of Banking, Banking Technology, Retail Payments System & Management
Formerly, with Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Financial Software & Systems Pvt. Ltd., and Andhra Bank, handling a wide variety of roles, including Project Management, Pre- Sales, Contract Management, Corporate Secretariat, IT Management and General Banking. Associated with Commonwealth Inclusive Growth Services Ltd., since July 2008.
A Mathematics Graduate from University of Madras and a qualified banker (CAIIB), with extensive training & certifications in Banking, Software Programming and Retail Payments System Technology.

CIGS

KEY MANAGEMENT

K. Sasikumar - CFO

A senior Accounts and Admin personnel with over three decades of rich experience in the fields of Accounts, Audit and General Administration.
Formerly, with Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. Ltd., Hi Tours, MamallapuramPvt. Ltd., Century Consultants (India) Ltd., Galadari Sons Trading LLC., West Asia Commercial House-Dubai, et al., handling Accounts, Audit and General Administration functions. Associated with Commonwealth Inclusive Growth Services Ltd., since its inception in January
2008. A Post Graduate in Economics & Commerce, with Certificate Course in Microsoft Office, Tally and other Accounting Package.

Mr. P. Ranganathan – Head of Compliance

A Finance and Compliance Professional with over four decades of rich & varied experience, both in India and Abroad, in the field of Finance, Accounts, Secretarial Practice, Trading, Operations and Management.
Formerly, Head of Finance of a leading Industrial Group and prior to that, heading the Operations of a leading Trading and Manufacturing Company, both in Nigeria, for over 2.5 decades. Indian experience consists of managing the IPO of a Delhi-based Manufacturing Company, as its Company Secretary, during 1991-92; handling Internal Audit Functions at Shipping Corporation of India; handling Shares / Debentures at Tata Share Registry Ltd., and Factory Accounts & Admin of an Engineering Company. Associated with Commonwealth Inclusive Growth Services Ltd., since September 2021.
B.Com., FCMA (FICWAI), FCS, securing University of Madras Rank in B.Com, Third Rank in ICWA (Inter), First Rank in CS (Inter) & CS (Final) and was awarded Gold Medal for the Performance in CS (Final).
Registered with IICA as an Independent Director eligible for appointment as Independent Director in various entities.
A Certified Merchant Banker from NISM, holding several Certifications from NSE on Securities Trading / Options, IICA on Corporate Matters, ICSI on Independent Director Roles & Responsibilities / IPO Issuance Matter and MCCI on CSR.

CIGS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS


Dr. Mohan Kaul

Director, ALGLOWTECH LTD , UK

Past role includes Director General of Commonwealth Business Council; Director and senior member of the Commonwealth Secretariat; United Nations adviser; Professor and Dean at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad; Member of the Board of Directors and Chair of Governance Committee of ICICI Bank (UK).
Dr. Kaul has authored a number of publications, including: An Outsider’s Inside View, 2000: From Problem to Solution: Commonwealth Strategies for Reform: Managing the Public Service, 1995, Management Reform in Government: A Review of International Practices and Strategies.
PhD. in Management Science – University of Paris-Sorbonne

Mr. Mahesh Ramachandran

Director, CIGS Tech Innovations Private Ltd., Skandasashti Holdings Private Ltd., and a few others.

General Partner, Pontaq Ventures India LLP
Member, Governing Council of TiE Chennai
Leadership Council and Programme Management Group Member of FinBlue FinTech Centre of Excellence set up by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India at STPI, Chennai.
Formerly, Head of Strategy & Governance for EMEA in Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), based in UK and India; Head of IT & Business Strategy for Europe in Ford Motor Company; Relationship Manager in Dun & Bradstreet Software Ltd., based in UK and India.
Over three decades of rich experience in Corporate Leadership roles, out of which over 13 years in the areas of Financial Inclusion in India.
MBA from University of Westminster, Sloan Masters in Leadership & Strategy (Distinguished Sloan Fellow of London Business School) from University of London

Prof. Trichy Krishnan

Director, CIGS Tech Innovations Private Ltd. Former Professor-Marketing, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai
Former Vice Dean, Research & PhD, NUS Business School, Singapore; Visiting Professor of Marketing, Indian School of Business, Hyderabad
Formerly, with Rice University, Houston, USA; Centre for Economic Research, Tilburg, The Netherlands; Ashok Leyland Ltd., India.
Generalised Bass model (with pricing) was developed in 1994 by Frank Bass, Trichy Krishnan and Dipak Jain - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_diffusion_model
B.E. (Mechanical) from Madras University, IndiaM.A. (International Management Studies), University of Texas, Dallas, USA
PhD (Management Science – Marketing), University of Texas, Dallas, USA

Dr. T.R. Suresh

Practising Senior Consultant Psychiatrist & Hypnotherapist.
Associated with leading hospitals & health clinics
Offers counseling & advisory services on managing expectations, successfully encountering challenges, motivation, peaceful living, etc.
An avid reader, deeply spiritual & philosophical and translator of works from Tamil to English and vice versa.
M.B.,B.S. from Madras University
D.P.M. from Bharathidasan University
M.D. (Psychiatry) from Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical

Dr. T. Prabalkumari

Practising Senior Consultant Psychiatrist & Narcoanalyst.
Specialises in de-addiction and marital counselling.
M.B.,B.S. from Madras University
D.P.M. from Bharathidasan University

Mr. Suresh Ramamurthy

A Strategic and Senior Management Professional with about three decades of rich experience, handling the roles of Group CFO, COO & CEO and also, business advisory and Virtual CFO services.
Resolution Professional and Valuation Professional of Securities & Financial assets
B.Com, ACA., CMA., IP., RV., ID
Trained in Intellectual Property (IPR) Harnessing by IIM (Ahmedabad)
Qualified in Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code – Limited Solvency Examination of IBBI.
Qualified in Registered Valuers Examination of SFA by IBBI.
Registered Independent Director of IICA and qualified the assessment

Mr. S V Krishnamurthy.jpg

Co-President (Advisor) of Keiretsu Forum one of the Largest Angel Funding Group in the World , Chennai & Singapore Chapters.
Advisor, RediSolve Software Services P Ltd. & Swirepay Inc. ( US Board Member )
Advisor for American Tamil Entrepreneur Association , Silicon Valley
In 1989, co-founded Professional Management Consultants (P) Ltd. (PMC), considered as one of the best Service Providers in the Banking & Financial Services Industry, acquired by the Sundaram Finance group in 2009.
Had two other successful exits, one each in India and in the Silicon Valley, respectively in the MFI and Indoor GPS space.
Vast experience, encompassing operations of the entire gamut of Retail Consumer Banking, Process Management, Credit Consultancy, Audits and Management Consulting.
B.Com., FCA & FCS
Qualified to be an Independent Director on the Boards of Listed and specified big Companies.

CIGS

KEY MANAGEMENT

K. Sasikumar - CFO

A senior Accounts and Admin personnel with over three decades of rich experience in the fields of Accounts, Audit and General Administration.
Formerly, with Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. Ltd., Hi Tours, MamallapuramPvt. Ltd., Century Consultants (India) Ltd., Galadari Sons Trading LLC., West Asia Commercial House-Dubai, et al., handling Accounts, Audit and General Administration functions. Associated with Commonwealth Inclusive Growth Services Ltd., since its inception in January 2008.
A Post Graduate in Economics & Commerce, with Certificate Course in Microsoft Office, Tally and other Accounting Package.

Mr. P. Ranganathan – Head of Compliance

A Finance and Compliance Professional with over four decades of rich & varied experience, both in India and Abroad, in the field of Finance, Accounts, Secretarial Practice, Trading, Operations and Management.
Formerly, Head of Finance of a leading Industrial Group and prior to that, heading the Operations of a leading Trading and Manufacturing Company, both in Nigeria, for over 2.5 decades. Indian experience consists of managing the IPO of a Delhi-based Manufacturing Company, as its Company Secretary, during 1991-92; handling Internal Audit Functions at Shipping Corporation of India; handling Shares / Debentures at Tata Share Registry Ltd., and Factory Accounts & Admin of an Engineering Company. Associated with Commonwealth Inclusive Growth Services Ltd., since September 2021.
B.Com., FCMA (FICWAI), FCS, securing University of Madras Rank in B.Com, Third Rank in ICWA (Inter), First Rank in CS (Inter) & CS (Final) and was awarded Gold Medal for the Performance in CS (Final).
Registered with IICA as an Independent Director eligible for appointment as Independent Director in various entities.
A Certified Merchant Banker from NISM, holding several Certifications from NSE on Securities Trading / Options, IICA on Corporate Matters, ICSI on Independent Director Roles & Responsibilities / IPO Issuance Matter and MCCI on CSR.

about us

Business Overview

Commonwealth Inclusive Growth Services Ltd., has been providing Business Correspondent services in the Financial Inclusion space, by partnering with regulated / authorized entities, offering a whole range of products & services of the Partner Banks.

Commonwealth Inclusive Growth Services Ltd., has also been acting as the Corporate Agent (Composite) for the Insurance Companies, selling Life, Health and General Insurance Policies of the Partner Insurance Companies.

Under the Brand Name, Tech Innovations, Commonwealth Inclusive Growth Services Ltd., has been investing in Deep Tech Companies in the space of FinTech, HealthTech, AgriTech, EdTech & GreenTech and mentoring the entrepreneurs to scale.

CIGS services well over 6 million customers, residing at about 30,000 villages, spread across more than 20 States and Union Territories, in partnership with Banks and Insurance Companies.

review

Partners & Customers

Over the years, CIGS has partnered with reputed entities, to offer the best in class products and services to the customers.

The current list of Partners & Customers includes TCS, TiE-Chennai, Chennai Angels, Mumbai Angels, Native Angels, SBI, Indian Bank, Equitas Small Finance Bank, Suryoday Small Finance Bank, City Union Bank Ltd.; in partnership with TCS, it has been rendering the Business Correspondent Services to Bank of India.

As an IRDAI Registered Corporate Agent (Composite), it has entered into Agreements with SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd., IFFCO-TOKIO General Insurance Co. Ltd., and Cholamandalam General Insurance Co. Ltd

As an Investor, Tech Innovations, the Brand Name for the investment arm of CIGS, has invested in over a dozen Deep Tech Companies; wherever mutually beneficial, these Deep Tech Companies may also partner with CIGS to acquire customers / scale their business.