Oftentimes, setting up a business is touted as one of the toughest tasks to be undertaken. However, in reality, it is ensuring smooth functioning and business growth that are tougher nuts to crack. Sound financial management plays a crucial role in aiding a business to grow which makes the role of the CFO a rather important one. Unfortunately, most Indian SMEs lack the resources or even have limited requirement to hire a fulltime CFO, which puts the onus on financial consultants to render bespoke financial advice and services. Coltivare Consultancy Services Private Limited is one such name that has been lending a helping hand to the Indian SME sector. “The word Coltivare translates to ‘growth support’ in Spanish. Keeping in line with our namesake, our objective is to be a part of our clients’ growth story through our financial services,” explains Deepak Bang, Managing Director, Coltivare.

Founded in 2013, the company started off by providing virtual CFO services which included handling a client's financial goal planning, road map,along with managing all their banking relationships. Coltivare also

helps clients improve internal control systems, efficiencies of daily financial management and training the internal team regarding control systems, along with loan and debt syndication for SMEs irrespective of the size of the company.

Owing to Deepak’s prior experience in the Indian banking industry, Coltivare’s primary forte has been working capital solutions and project loans

Banking on Knowledge
The young and lean organization has been on an upward growth trajectory since its very initiation. Deepak attributes Coltivare’s growth to the organization’s in-depth knowledge about the Indian banking industry. “Along with understanding of our client’s requirements based on their balance sheets, we also understand the banking requirements well, which keeps us a step ahead of our competitors,” Deepak elaborates. Additionally, the company also emphasises on building long term relationships with its clients. “Once a client comes on board, we take care of all financial requirements, and provide the required solutions based on their need at the particular time,” adds Deepak.

Under financial advisory, Coltivare holds expertise in debt syndication and asset financing. The company also renders private equity and IPO preparedness services to its clients. Through these services,

companies are able to manage their business in the right way and present the company in a desirable manner to private equity players. Additionally, Coltivare also renders M&A advisory, credit rating advisory and project financing. However, owing to Deepak’s prior experience in the Indian banking industry, Coltivare’s primary forte has been working capital solutions and project loans. The company’s roster of services also includes retail products such as home loans, mortgage loans and wealth management. With a separate team working on this segment, Coltivare has also built associations with more than 15 banks and financial institutions as official channel partners for extending the retail products to its clients.

Owing to its quality services, a large part of the company’s business comes through referrals. The forward looking firm identified an opportunity here and conceptualized a channel where they could capture those referrals and offer this channel to their referral partners through an app. This application enables referral partners to intimate the firm regarding a business opportunity and in turn stay updated as to what has happened with this lead. When there is a success, the benefits will be passed on to the referral partner either in monetary or reward form. Called the ‘leadpassers.com’, this platform forms an integral part of Coltivare’s future road map. Additionally, the company is also looking at expanding geographically and intends to focus on tier 2 cities across the country.