Case Forge: Strategic Case Competition By IIT Kharagpur

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1. About the Case Competition

Case Forge 2025 is IIT Kharagpur’s flagship strategic case competition, co-presented with Masters’ Union, one of the more rigorous undergraduate-level strategy platforms in India. The competition draws teams from premier B-schools and management programs across the country, testing depth of financial reasoning and strategic clarity under pressure. Team Strategix from IIM Rohtak secured 2nd Runners Up, a strong podium finish in a highly competitive field.

2. Problem Statement Overview

RupayPay Technologies, a 100% bootstrapped digital payment gateway and SME working capital lender founded in Kolkata in 2021, faces a pivotal capital decision. With ₹52 crore in revenue growing at 70% CAGR, a ₹320 crore loan book, and a best-in-class 2.1% NPA ratio, the company has received an offer from M Partners: ₹125 crore for 20% equity with aggressive 3-year targets including ₹25,000 crore GMV. Accepting the deal risks founder dilution, mission drift, and margin erosion in a market where funded rivals like Paytm and BharatPe have struggled with profitability. The core tension is whether speed of scale justifies the cost of control.

3. What This Winning Deck Covers

The deck opens with a sharp company diagnosis, mapping RupayPay’s strengths (proprietary credit model, superior NPA discipline, Tier II/III focus) against the structural pressures of competing in a well-funded fintech landscape. The strategic recommendation rejects the VC offer in favour of a bootstrapped growth path powered by SPV securitization: establishing a separate legal entity, transferring the top 20–25% of safest SME receivables, and targeting institutional investors such as pension and mutual funds with below-market yields justified by strong credit quality. The financing structure generates liquidity without equity dilution, with India’s securitization market having reached ₹2.8 trillion in FY25.

The risk and resilience section is particularly rigorous. A CAMEL analysis benchmarks the bootstrapping path against VC on capital adequacy, asset quality, earnings, and liquidity, with bootstrapping outperforming across most dimensions. The deck then builds a five-pillar compliance core covering RBI securitization norms, AI-driven audit trails, DPDP/GDPR-aligned data security, and independent trustee governance. A three-year risk mitigation matrix covers credit, liquidity, operational, competition, and people risks, each with explicit triggers and contingency actions. The financial modeling across both paths, with bootstrapping delivering a steady 12% EBITDA margin versus a VC-funded net EBITDA loss of ₹31.6 crore by Year 3, is the deck’s most defensible analytical layer. This scenario-based financial modeling approach is also central to the strategy in Deloitte Maverick V – Eastern Regional.

The execution roadmap runs across three sprints (0–12 months), covering cluster selection, AI underwriting MVP launch, SPV closure, and workflow automation, anchored by partner-led zero-CAC distribution through ERPs, mandi committees, and trade groups. The growth playbook also introduces vernacular-first UX, offline-first mode, and a “Credit Ki Paathshala” gamified financial literacy layer as distribution moats. These unit economics and growth loop mechanics share DNA with Airtel iCreate 2025 – 1st Year B-School Track.

Key Takeaways:

  • SPV securitization is a viable alternative to VC for fintech companies with strong loan book quality and institutional investor appetite
  • Bootstrapping delivers superior EBITDA discipline, 12% margins held across all three years vs. a VC path that turns loss-making by Year 3
  • CAMEL analysis is a powerful framework for evaluating fintech funding strategy beyond standard DCF or IRR lenses
  • Cluster-focused GTM with ERP embeds and anchor partnerships reduces CAC by 40% while building sustainable distribution moats
  • Regulatory compliance- RBI norms, DPDP, SOC-2, treated as a sales asset, not just a cost centre

4. The Numbers

RupayPay enters the case with ₹52 crore revenue, 70% CAGR, 12% EBITDA margin, and a ₹320 crore loan book across 80,000 customers. The bootstrapped 3-year projection reaches ₹118 crore revenue with NPAs held at 2.3%, absorbing ₹14.9 crore in bad loans while staying EBITDA-positive at ₹14.2 crore. The VC path, by contrast, projects a ₹31.6 crore net EBITDA loss by Year 3 as 4.5% NPAs erode a larger but more fragile ₹878 crore loan book.

5. Who Should Study This Deck

This deck is essential for anyone preparing for fintech, consulting, or corporate finance cases, particularly those who need to argue funding strategy trade-offs with numerical rigour. MBA students targeting BFSI consulting, investment banking, or strategy roles will find the SPV structuring, CAMEL analysis, and scenario modeling directly applicable. Undergraduate aspirants competing in finance-heavy case competitions will gain a masterclass in how to frame a capital decision beyond surface-level pros and cons. For a wider library of winning frameworks across strategy, finance, and GTM, explore CaseBuzz.

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