Reimagining the Future: Beyond Basics
Held under the theme “Financial Inclusion 2.0: Next is Now – Innovating for Resilience, Sustainability, and Growth,” this year’s CXO Meet focused on the next chapter of financial inclusion—one defined by ecosystem resilience, inclusive design, and technology-enabled delivery. Discussions moved beyond the foundational role of BCs and explored how the assisted model can evolve to address emerging challenges, including digital fraud, stagnant agent viability, and the need for diversified services at the last mile.
Purpose-Driven Dialogue and Groundbreaking Ideas
In her welcome address, Bharati Joshi, CEO, GFSI, reflected on the complexity of the environment in which decisions have to be made keeping the triple bottom line in mind: “We are living in difficult times, a truly VUCA world. The new trinity of JAM, UPI and ULI will need the life force of Ingenuity, Humility, and Perseverance to succeed. The spectres of digital fraud and financial abuse can be tackled with a more intimate understanding of those we seek to serve, even as we move towards 'Don't Know Your Customer' in the digital space.”
Sunil Kulkarni, CEO, BCFI, echoed this sense of urgency, noting that the evolution of financial tools must be matched by renewed focus on trust, compliance, and sustainability. “The assisted model and the 2 million agents strong BC channel are critical touchpoints for India’s digital leap in sub-urban and rural “Bharat”. It has reached an inflexion point, where their viability and success would depend on introducing new services by strengthening foundations and deepening banking & non-banking partnerships beyond cash servicing,” he said.
Highlights from CXO Meet 2025
Over the two days, participants engaged in expert-led dialogues, masterclasses, and interactive forums. One of the key sessions featured a thought-provoking conversation between Ms. Sai Sudha Chandrasekharan (CEO, SRO-FT Development Foundation) and Mr. Sunil Kulkarni (CEO, BCFI), exploring the potential role of the proposed Self-Regulatory Organisation for Fintech (SRO-FT) in enhancing governance and standardization of processes in the BC industry.
A masterclass on Artificial Intelligence, delivered by PeoplePlus.AI, followed AI Technology showcase by innovation partners from BuckBox and Bolofy, showcased how AI and design thinking can align with business outcomes in agent networks. Attendees participated in working group sessions focused on fraud mitigation, regulatory compliance, and agent business models, generating actionable ideas rooted in operational realities. Attendees were also taken on a walk through of the Innovations program by Mr. Rahul Dube (Project Director, Innovations Project, GFSI) and Mr. Saurabh Singh (Senior Program Manager, Innovations Project, GFSI). This also included a product showcase by Scanbo and EasyPay.
A live walkthrough of the GIS Dashboard illustrated how data-led decision-making can strengthen BCNM operations and expand services to underserved regions. An open forum brought BC leaders together to discuss product bundling, merchant acquisition, and new service lines. Finally, an ONDC showcase presented by Ms. Nandita Sharma explored how BCs can act as digital enablement agents to unlock rural commerce opportunities.
Vision Forward: From Insight to Action
The CXO Meet 2025 positioned itself not just as a platform for knowledge exchange but as a catalyst for tangible change. With participation from CXOs, regulators, fintech’s, NGOs, and donors, the convening offered a 360-degree view of what’s next for the BC model.
The meet concluded with a resolve to further action over 2025-26 along five themes, for which Thematic Working Groups have been formed:
- Fraud and Grievance Redress
- Agent Business Models
- Beyond-CICO Innovations
- Regulatory Alignment
- Promoting Gender inclusion and addressing Financial Abuse (especially that perpetrated against women)
These working groups will serve as long-term collaborative spaces to translate insights into systemic action. GFSI and BCFI reiterated their commitment to anchoring these dialogues within the Community of Practice (CoP) and advancing inclusive financial models that are scalable, sustainable, and future-ready.
About GFSI
The Grameen Foundation for Social Impact (GFSI) is a not-for-profit organization registered under Section 8 of the Indian Companies Act. Grameen’s global strategy strategy—Invest in HER Power—focuses on integrated and scalable approaches to empower women and underserved communities. GFSI’s work spans four themes: Agriculture and Livelihoods, Women’s Entrepreneurship, Innovations in Digital Finance, and Health and Nutrition. GFSI leads with Gender and transforms through Finance, Innovative Partnerships and Technology to achieve its Mission of Enabling the poor, especially women, to create a world without poverty and hunger.
About BCFI
The Business Correspondent Federation of India (BCFI) represents over 60 Corporate BC entities with a collective reach of more than 2 million Customer Service Points (CSPs) across India. BCFI champions responsible finance through the last mile and has played a pivotal role in strengthening the BC model—especially during the pandemic, where BCs were recognized as essential service providers and COVID warriors by the Government of India.
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