Disclaimer:I am market making in Ratnakar Bank

Ahuja then set about convincing investors to commit capital to the bank. “It was a mission for the first six months. We couldn’t give investors a single piece of paper. It was me and my team’s personal credentials which were presented to the investors,” said Ahuja. The bank raisedRs720 crore in two phases in 2010 and 2013.Investors included marquee names such as HDFC, Samara Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, Gaja Capital Partners and International Finance Corp., the World Bank arm that drives private sector investment in developing markets. Faering Capital, co-promoted by Aditya Parekh, son of HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, also holds a stake. Institutional investors now have a 50% holding. The bank has also given stock options to senior management and other employees.

IFC’s investment was made after eight months of due diligence. “Ratnakar Bank’s focus on growing their micro, small and medium enterprise segment in semi-urban and rural markets aligns with IFC’s India programme,” said senior investment officer Anup Kumar Agarwal

Now, at Ratnakar Bank, Ahuja’s mettle will be tested all over again as he puts the building blocks in place and scales up the business.

He’s not without his critics, who say he’s merely touching up the surface to make the bank look good for a potential investor. Ahuja flares up at such a suggestion. “We have not dressed up the bank to go anywhere,” he said. “We have done everything the hard way. We have not come in to make money by selling. I have made a long-term institution.”

Ahuja said Ratnakar Bank has put in place a clear road map to list by 2015. -from ET