Atelier
Overview
Framing Fintech Systems for MSME India
A multilingual communication system designed to make fintech accessible to MSME owners across South India - driving trust, adoption and GST compliance - 2023.
Role: Creative Director
Category: Fintech / Supply Chain Finance
Scope: Brand Communication, Product Education & Growth Marketing
Languages used: English, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu
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Jit FinCo is a fintech company providing supply-chain finance and GST compliance support to MSME owners across India.
The company’s hero product - KYSS (Know Your Supplier Score) - proposed to solve a real operational problem for small businesses: easy access to working capital, and help navigating India’s GST taxation system. But despite the strength of the product, adoption remained limited.
The issue was not technology or pricing. It was communication.
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) form the backbone of India’s economic ecosystem. Yet many MSME owners operate with limited access to financial guidance, especially when navigating regulatory frameworks such as GST.
While digital financial platforms promise efficiency; the complex financial terminology and digital interfaces used by them do not reflect the lived reality of many small-town entrepreneurs - individuals who operate outside the assumptions of mainstream fintech knowledge or marketing.
Fintech communication in India tends to be:
English-first
visually complex
filled with financial jargon
mostly app-centric
For many MSME owners, this style of communication creates distance rather than trust.
deliverables:
[Fintech/ Communication System / Behavioral Change]
Challenge
The challenge was clear: this was not simply a marketing problem. It was a gap created by lack of communication and cultural translation.
Jit FinCo needed to bridge that gap - not by simplifying the product, but by changing the way the product was communicated.
Three key barriers prevented MSME owners from engaging with Jit FinCo:
Language
Most brand communication was delivered in English, while the majority of MSME owners primarily operate in regional languages.
Complexity
GST compliance involves procedures and terminology that can feel intimidating or opaque.
Trust
Financial services depend on credibility. If communication feels unfamiliar or inaccessible, trust never forms.
Approach
MSME owners were not rejecting fintech. They were rejecting communication that didn’t speak their language - literally and culturally.
To earn trust, Jit FinCo needed to shift from sounding like a fintech startup to a helpful business partner, who communicated in a way that felt local, human and understandable.
The goal here wasn’t increasing recall. It was creating clarity.
As Creative Director, I repositioned Jit FinCo’s communication around three principles.
1. Language as a Trust Builder
All core brand communication was produced in regional languages including Hindi, Kannada and Telugu. This allowed MSME owners to engage with financial information in the language they use in daily life.
2. Visual Storytelling Instead of Financial Jargon
Complex tax and compliance issues faced by small business owners - such as confusion around securing working capital, GST filings or payment deadlines were translated into simple visual narratives. A series of illustrated comic panels depicting everyday situations faced by small business owners turned complex financial concepts into relatable scenarios through humor and storytelling.
3. Communication in Everyday Channels
Instead of relying solely on traditional digital marketing channels, communication was designed solely for the platforms MSME owners already use daily.
(The goal was to create communication that felt informal, accessible and repeatable.)
WhatsApp-Friendly Creatives
Since WhatsApp is a primary communication tool for many MSME owners, lightweight visual content was designed for mobile sharing and quick reading.
Offline and Field Communication
Old school posters and printed communication were created for use by field agents and outreach teams interacting directly with MSME communities.
Concept Development: GST Radio
To explore new formats for financial education, I developed the concept for GST Radio - a series of short audio explainers designed to deliver GST-related information in 5-minute segments. The idea was to distribute these audio updates through WhatsApp and Facebook, allowing business owners to learn about compliance issues in an informal, conversational format.
Although the initiative remained at the pilot concept stage, it demonstrated how fintech communication could evolve beyond traditional marketing formats.
Solution
The shift from English-centric fintech communication to culturally fluent storytelling produced meaningful engagement with the target audience. MSME owners began interacting more actively with Jit FinCo’s communication and customer representatives.
Outcome
The approachable tone and multilingual content helped build familiarity with the brand, encouraging more business owners to reach out for assistance with GST compliance and financial support. Jit FinCo’s communication began to feel less like corporate messaging and more like practical guidance for everyday business challenges.
In the end, people don’t remember what you say. They remember what makes sense.
My Role
As Creative Director, I led the development and execution of Jit FinCo’s entire communication system.
Responsibilities included:
defining the creative strategy and communication framework.
leading a 20-member team including designers, illustrators, field agents, language-translators and MSME relationship contacts.
writing all copy and content across campaigns and educational materials.
directing the visual language and illustration style.
overseeing brand campaigns, performance marketing and internal communication.
designing communication systems used by customer representatives and field teams.
This role required balancing creative direction, content strategy and operational coordination across multiple communication channels.
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