Early Life and Education
Sanjay Agarwal was born in Rajasthan, India. He faced early academic challenges, including failing in class 8. He pursued higher education at a government college in Ajmer and then qualified as a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Despite initial setbacks, including failing the CA exams twice, he persevered and used these experiences as stepping stones.
Rise to Success
Agarwal founded AU Financiers (India) Ltd. in 1996 in Jaipur, focusing on vehicle loans. This venture laid the foundation for AU Small Finance Bank. In 2015, AU Financiers received a banking license from the Reserve Bank of India, transforming into AU Small Finance Bank in 2017. Under his leadership, the bank went public in 2017, with its IPO being oversubscribed 53 times, and it has since grown to over 1,000 branches across India.
Key Business Strategies
Agarwal's key business strategies included addressing the financial needs of underserved communities in rural and semi-urban areas. He focused on providing loans for small vehicles initially and later expanded into small business and home loans. The transformation into a small finance bank allowed AU to expand its reach and offer a wider range of financial services, driving its significant growth.
Philanthropy
In 2021, Agarwal set up a foundation, donating 25,00,000 shares.