How to Build Wealth in India: Riding the Next Wave of Opportunities

Over the past five years of my entrepreneurial journey in India, I’ve navigated the complex landscape of building wealth in a country where opportunities abound but challenges persist. Making serious money in India isn’t easy—it requires understanding the market’s unique dynamics and leveraging the right tailwinds at the right time. In this post, I’ll break down how entrepreneurs capitalized on India’s transformative moments in the past decade and share insights from The Great Unlock: India in 2035 report, co-created by Nandan Nilekani and Arkham Ventures, to highlight the next big opportunities for building wealth in India.

The 2016 India Stack: A Game-Changer for Entrepreneurs

To understand how to make money today, we need to rewind to 2016—a pivotal year that reshaped India’s economic landscape. Five key events converged to create what we now call the India Stack, a digital infrastructure that fueled unprecedented entrepreneurial growth:

1. April 4, 2016: India crossed 1 billion Aadhaar enrollments, giving the country a digital identity backbone.

2. April 11, 2016: The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) launched, revolutionizing digital payments from street vendors to corporate offices.

3. September 5, 2016: Jio disrupted the telecom market with free data, making internet access near-universal.

4. November 8, 2016: Demonetization forced a nationwide shift away from cash, accelerating digital adoption.

5. December 29, 2016: The BHIM app launched, making UPI accessible and practical for millions.

These events created a digital economy by necessity, not just design. By 2025, India had 700 million Aadhaar-linked bank accounts and 1.7 billion monthly UPI transactions. This infrastructure gave entrepreneurs access to a new kind of digital distribution, enabling companies like Boat, Noise, Zerodha, and OfBusiness to scale rapidly.

Why Did These Companies Succeed?

The secret sauce was timing. These companies rode the 2016 tailwinds—a window of opportunity where market arbitrage existed. For example:

• Low customer acquisition costs: In 2016, advertising on Facebook and Google was dirt cheap, with returns on ad spend (ROAS) of 4–6x. Early D2C brands like Boat capitalized on this before competition drove up costs.

• Aadhaar e-KYC and UPI: Zerodha leveraged instant paperless onboarding and seamless account funding to scale nationwide.

• Content-driven growth: PhysicsWallah built a profitable edtech business on YouTube, while others struggled to replicate its success with VC-funded models.

These companies were at the right place, at the right time, with the right teams to seize these opportunities. By the time competitors caught up, the window had closed, and copycats couldn’t scale profitably.

The Next India Stack: Four Unlocks for 2035

The Great Unlock: India in 2035 report outlines four new tailwinds that could propel India to an $8 trillion economy by 2035. For entrepreneurs, these are the waves to ride before they become crowded. Let’s dive into each unlock and the opportunities they present.

1. Technology Unlock: AI for the Next Billion

AI is poised to bridge the gap for India’s underserved populations, particularly in agriculture and MSMEs. While tools like ChatGPT cater to the top 1%, the real opportunity lies in serving the next billion with localized, AI-driven solutions.

Opportunities:

• AI in Agriculture: Build platforms like the Open Agri Network, which offers AI-powered crop planning and recommendation tools for farmers. Imagine a farmer in Bihar using a smartphone app to optimize yields or access credit.

• Localized AI Services: Develop AI assistants that speak regional languages and provide tailored solutions for farming, banking, healthcare, and education.

• Edtech Innovation: Tamil Nadu’s AI-driven learning platforms in schools show the potential for scalable, localized education solutions.

Example: Uno, a neobanking platform for farmer credit, is already tapping into this space with funding from Arkham Ventures.

Actionable Tip: Leverage India’s digital public infrastructure (DPI) to build AI services for non-metro markets, where competition is low but demand is high.

2. Capital Unlock: Tokenizing Assets

India has $3.3 trillion of wealth locked in illiquid assets like land, compared to 40% monetizable land in the US. The report proposes tokenization—using blockchain to divide land ownership into tradable digital tokens—as a solution to unlock this capital.

Opportunities:

• Land Tokenization Platforms: Build tech infrastructure to enable fractional ownership of land, allowing individuals to sell portions of their property without losing total control.

• Credit for MSMEs: Use account aggregators and GST invoices to create credit-tech platforms that provide small loans to informal workers and MSMEs.

• IPO Boom: With India projected to become the world’s top IPO market by 2035, fintech startups can facilitate retail participation in public markets.

Example: The BHU-Aadhaar initiative assigns unique IDs (ULPIN) to land parcels, paving the way for digital land records and tokenization.

Actionable Tip: Explore blockchain-based solutions for real estate or credit platforms to tap into this massive, underutilized asset class.

3. Entrepreneurship Unlock: The Rise of Tier 2 and 3 Startups

By 2035, India will have 1 million startups, with over 50% operating outside metro cities. These startups are solving real problems for non-metro populations, creating a new entrepreneurial flywheel akin to the “Flipkart Mafia” (which spawned PhonePe, Groww, and others).

Opportunities:

• Tier 2/3 Solutions: Build platforms like Jar, which democratizes gold investments with denominations as low as ₹10, or 91Trucks, which helps truckers become owners.

• Simplifying Compliance: Create tools to navigate India’s 69,000 compliance requirements and 1,500 central/state acts, making it easier for startups to operate.

• Blue-Collar Platforms: Develop solutions like SmartStaff to formalize employment for blue-collar workers in tier 2/3 cities.

Example: Udaan Mart is building a D-Mart equivalent for tier 2 cities, addressing local retail needs.

Actionable Tip: Focus on mission-driven startups that solve hyperlocal problems in tier 2/3 markets, where competition is sparse.

4. Formalization Unlock: The Digital Energy Grid

India’s economy is still 75% informal, with limited access to credit, social security, or stable employment. The report proposes a digital energy grid—a decentralized network where individuals and businesses can trade excess energy (e.g., from solar panels) directly on a digital platform.

Opportunities:

• Micro-Entrepreneurship: Build platforms that enable small shop owners or households to sell surplus solar energy, creating millions of micro-entrepreneurs.

• Formalizing MSMEs: Develop solutions to bring MSMEs into the formal economy through GST compliance, credit access, and employee benefits.

• Gig Economy Expansion: Create platforms that integrate informal workers (e.g., Swiggy delivery partners) into the formal economy with benefits and training.

Example: A digital energy grid could allow a shop owner in Kochi to sell excess solar energy to neighbors, tracked via a blockchain-based platform.

Actionable Tip: Build platforms that integrate informal workers or businesses into digital marketplaces, leveraging DPI for scalability.

The Headwinds: Challenges to Overcome

While these unlocks present massive opportunities, entrepreneurs must navigate four key headwinds outlined in the report:

1. Income Disparity: 13 of India’s 788 districts contribute 50% of GDP, with job growth concentrated in the south and west. Overcrowded cities like Bangalore and Mumbai face infrastructure bottlenecks.

2. Lack of Formalization: Only 8 million of India’s 63 million MSMEs file GST, and just 1 million offer employee benefits, limiting access to credit ($530 billion gap).

3. Low Productivity: India’s labor productivity is $7/hour, one-tenth of the US, due to inefficiencies in agriculture and MSMEs.

4. Market Access: Small businesses struggle to reach domestic or global markets due to logistical and financial barriers.

These challenges highlight the importance of targeting underserved sectors and regions to create scalable, impactful businesses.

How to Win as an Entrepreneur in India

To build wealth in India, you need to:

1. Get in Early: Identify markets with low competition but high future potential, like AI for agriculture or tokenization for real estate.

2. Leverage Tailwinds: Use India’s digital infrastructure (Aadhaar, UPI, BHU-Aadhaar) to scale efficiently.

3. Focus on Non-Metro Markets: Solve problems for tier 2/3 cities, where 50% of startups are already emerging.

4. Ride the Window of Opportunity: Timing is everything. The 2016 tailwinds created giants like Zerodha; the 2035 unlocks will do the same for those who act now.

Conclusion: Seize the Moment

India is at a unique inflection point. The macroeconomic environment is strong, with 7% GDP growth projected for 2024–25, making India the fastest-growing major economy (per IMF). The Great Unlock report provides a roadmap for entrepreneurs to ride the next wave of tailwinds—AI, capital tokenization, tier 2/3 startups, and formalization through innovations like the digital energy grid.

As an entrepreneur, I’m excited to be part of this journey. The opportunities are audacious but achievable, and the time to act is now. Whether you’re building an AI platform for farmers, a blockchain solution for land, or a startup for tier 2 cities, the next decade is yours to shape.

What’s your next step? Share your thoughts in the comments, and let’s build India’s $8 trillion future together!

Special thanks to Zerodha for supporting this content.