NAFCON 2026 sparks strategic dialogue on AI, risk & responsible innovation

The 21st Edition of NAFCON – NBFC & Fintech Conclave & Awards 2026, curated by Bharat Network Group, has concluded successfully on 27th February 2026 at Holiday Inn New Delhi Aerocity, bringing together industry leaders, regulators, NBFCs, FinTech innovators, and technology enablers to redefine the future of intelligent finance.

Centered around the theme “Intelligent Finance: Re-Architecting the Future with AI & Innovation,” the conclave served as a dynamic platform to explore AI-first NBFC models, co-lending ecosystems, digital risk management, governance frameworks, and customer-centric transformation.

The day commenced with registration and networking, followed by the ceremonial lamp lighting and welcome address by Dr. Ashish Srivastava, Founder & Director, Bharat Network Group, setting the tone for strategic dialogue and collaboration.

The inaugural session featured the distinguished industry voice of Sunil Kulkarni, Advisor & Board Observer at Banking, Financial Services & Insurance Institute. The speaker emphasised the urgent need for AI-driven credit innovation, regulatory alignment, scalable digital infrastructure, and collaborative industry frameworks to build a resilient and future-ready NBFC ecosystem.

The conclave spotlighted insightful technical presentations from Ashish Mehta, AVP at Pinnacle Teleservices; Ankoor Das, Co-Founder & CBO of Digitap; and Amod Phadke, COO of Contentverse by Computhink. These sessions highlighted the role of alternate data in credit decisioning, governance-driven document control, regulatory confidence, and AI-enabled modernisation across the BFSI ecosystem.

Moderated by Arnab Sarkar, Co-Founder & COO of EFundzz, the first panel featured Anish Kila, Director, Perfect Group; Vikas Arora, President & Business Head, Shriram Finance; Nehal Gupta, Founder, AMU Leasing; Dhiraj Agarwal, CBO, Mufin Green Finance; Akshay Sarma, CFO, axio; Deepika Aggarwal, CRO, Kissandhan Agri Financial; and Ashish Agrawal, Director, Resurgent India Limited. The discussion explored the evolution of co-lending from traditional balance sheet partnerships to platform-led ecosystems, highlighting real-time credit decisioning, consent-led data frameworks, regulatory governance, and trust-building mechanisms between banks, NBFCs, and FinTech partners.

The second panel, moderated by Varun Sharma, Partner – Digital at Grant Thornton Bharat LLP, brought together Aditya Singh, Co-Founder, Go Green Capital; Swetank Rathi, Head of Engineering, Revfin; Aditi Singh, CSO, Satin Creditcare; and Abhijit Ranjane, Managing Director, Unnatti Finserv Private Limited. The discussion examined how NBFCs can transition from AI-enabled use cases to fully AI-native architectures, focusing on AI-led underwriting, predictive risk detection, portfolio intelligence, responsible AI practices, DPDP compliance, and the talent transformation required to embed AI into core operations.

Led by Shalya Gupta, CEO of Credifin, the third panel included Pinank Shah, CEO, Capital India Finance; Rohit Mehta, MD, Akasa Finance; Jasoda Gulliya, CSO, FYNX Capital; Anamika Chatterjee, Head Customer Experience – Retail Finance, Hero Fincorp; and Abhijit Paul, VP & Head of Sales, Sharpsell. The conversation highlighted how people, process, and platforms must align to deliver frictionless customer journeys, addressing CX transformation, digital CRM enablement, grievance redressal modernization, and humanizing high-stress touchpoints such as collections and servicing.

The final panel, moderated by Kartikeya Raman, Partner at Grant Thornton Bharat LLP, featured Ranjit Singh, Chief Credit Risk Officer, CredAble; Devanshi Mittal, CTO, Maxemo Capital; and Jatin Bajaj, Head of Internal Audit, Hero Fincorp. The discussion addressed emerging AI-driven fraud risks, including synthetic identities, machine-learning-based fraud detection, real-time anomaly-detection systems, pre-delinquency triggers, and the strategic debate between building in-house AI capabilities and partnering with specialized solution providers.

The event concluded with the prestigious NBFC & Fintech Excellence Awards Ceremony, celebrating leadership, innovation, digital excellence, and customer-centric transformation across the ecosystem. 

CATEGORYWINNER
BANKING EMPOWERMENT EXCELLENCEDR. DEVDATTA MAHADEO CHANDGADKACEO AND DIRECTORRUGR SIL PVT LTD
BEST FINTECH & BANK COLLABORATIONBILLMART FINTECH PRIVATE LIMITED
DIGITAL BANKING TRANSFORMATIONDR. DEVDATTA MAHADEO CHANDGADKACEO AND DIRECTORRUGR SIL PVT LTD
BEST FINTECH INNOVATION FOR FINANCIAL INCLUSIONPINE LABS
BEST INNOVATION IN PAYMENTSSARVATRA TECHNOLOGIES PVT. LTD
BEST FINTECH NBFC OF YEARCASHPEY
BEST VEHICLE FINANCER OF THE YEARAKASA FINANCE LTD
BEST TECHNOLOGY-BASED NBFCHERO HOUSING FINANCE
OUTSTANDING COMPANY IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCEINDIA SHELTER FINANCE CORPORATION LIMITED
THE PLATINUM AWARD FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE QUALITY AUDIT IN NBFC SECTORJJSG & CO
EMERGING NBFC OF THE YEARMS FINCAP PRIVATE LIMITED
BEST FINTECH NBFC OF YEARMUFIN GREEN FINANCE LIMITED
SMART NBFC OF THE YEARPERFECT FINANCE
THE DOMINANT NBFC OF THE YEARSATIN CREDITCARE NETWORK LIMITED
BEST DATA-DRIVEN NBFC OF THE YEARSEEDS FINCAP PVT LTD
FINTECH NBFC OF YEARUNNATTI FINSERV PRIVATE LIMITED
BEST TECHNOLOGY-BASED NBFCCSL FINANCE LIMITED
BEST NBFC IN SUPPLY CHAIN FINANCEFYNX CAPITAL LTD
WOMEN CFO OF THE YEARGUNJAN JAINCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERMUFIN GREEN FINANCE LIMITED
INTERNAL AUDIT LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE – NBFC SECTORJATIN BAJAJHEAD OF INTERNAL AUDITHERO FINCORP
THE TRAILBLAZER OF THE YEARCA (Dr.) Ramawatar KilaDIRECTORPERFECT FINANCE
DYNAMIC TECH LEADER OF THE YEARABHIJIT RANJANEMANAGING DIRECTORUNNATTI FINSERV PRIVATE LIMITED
DOER OF THE YEARZORAWAR SINGHADVOCATE
HALL OF FAME AWARDANAMIKA CHATTERJEEHEAD – CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE RETAIL FINANCEHERO FINCORP

NAFCON 21st 2026 closed with a vote of thanks and evening networking tea, reinforcing the industry’s collective commitment to building responsible, AI-driven, and customer-first financial institutions.

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