We are evolving from digital-first to AI-first: Jyothirlatha B

In just  5 years, Godrej Capital has quickly established itself as one of India’s most digitally progressive NBFCs. Since its inception in 2019, they have focused on building technology-first solutions that simplify lending, especially for underserved and credit-thin segments like MSMEs. At the heart of this digital reinvention is Jyothirlatha B, Chief Technology Officer, whose strategic vision is driving scalable, AI-assisted platforms while maintaining strong regulatory alignment and a human-centric approach.

In this exclusive interview with Express Computer, Jyothirlatha shares how they are leveraging AI, automation, cloud, and data science to create secure, inclusive, and highly personalised digital experiences and not just for customers but also for agents and credit teams. From building unified data layers to launching AI-powered tools like “Agent Assist”, she explains how the NBFC is moving from being digital-first to AI-first — thoughtfully and responsibly.

Godrej Capital is widely recognised as a digital-first NBFC. From a technology leadership point of view, how has your digital transformation strategy evolved, especially with respect to financial inclusion for MSMEs?

We are about five to six years old, having started in 2019. Back then, we began thinking about the right technology stack, in what was the pre-COVID era. At that time, digital transformation and touch-free processes were more optional than essential. But before we actually launched our systems, the pandemic hit—and that completely transformed the definition of a digital environment.

We redesigned all our business processes. Technology, instead of being a mere enabler, became the driver of those processes.
That’s the real transformation. Rather than being bolted on, technology became the core of the process, and with business buy-in and adoption, true transformation followed. When people, process, and technology come together like that, transformation becomes possible. That’s the change I’ve seen.

India’s lending landscape is complex and diverse. What key technological challenges have you faced in building scalable, AI-powered lending platforms—and how are you addressing them?

We’ve discussed this often that AI is not a magic wand, but it does have immense potential. When used in the right way and applied to the right use cases, it can deliver strong outcomes. Lending, however, is a document-heavy industry, with some regulatory requirements for physical verification. Especially for products like housing loans, a full five-minute digital approval isn’t feasible.

We use AI very carefully, powered by human-in-the-loop. It assists us in making conscious decisions. AI helps in shortlisting candidates, understanding customers better, and summarising documents for credit underwriters. It acts as an assistant to our credit teams, rather than replacing them.

Data-driven decision-making is critical in today’s lending ecosystem. How is your team using data science, analytics, AI, and automation to personalise customer journeys and enhance engagement across channels?

Data is foundational. We took a strategic decision to have a single source of truth that is centralised and not in silos. We have a strong data warehouse, and on top of that, we’ve built various AI and ML algorithms. Our GenAI platform is also closely integrated, providing useful outcomes.

To enable hyper-personalisation, everything from our communication channels like email, SMS, call centre, everything is connected. Our Customer 360 framework ensures that whichever channel the customer uses like call, WhatsApp, or email, we provide a seamless experience. With a unified data layer, we understand the customer and their expectations in real time.

Customers today often get multiple calls from the same organisation, even after rejecting an offer. How are you addressing such redundancies?

Yes, that’s a real issue. We use a strong CRM system by Salesforce and ensure that customer intent is recorded in real time. If someone rejects a loan, the system updates immediately, preventing repeated follow-ups. Thanks to our centralised data and real-time updates, AI ensures that no manual action is needed. This greatly reduces redundancy and improves customer experience.

Given the data complexity of the MSME segment, how are you leveraging technology to accelerate credit delivery and improve customer experience for this group?

MSME data is quite complex. We are working to gather and interpret this data better to provide meaningful insights for credit decisions. We’ve defined models and rules specific to self-employed individuals and professionals. Our platforms assist credit officers in understanding customer profiles more effectively.

Soon, we’re also launching ‘Agent Assist’ which is a transformative tool for sales and credit agents. It’s designed to enhance their productivity and decision-making, and it should go live in the next two to three months.

Your strategic partnership with Salesforce is notable. From a CTO’s perspective, how is this integration strengthening your technology stack and operational agility?

From day one, we followed a platform-first approach rather than deploying standalone applications. Salesforce, being a framework, gives us flexibility and ready-made plug-ins to accelerate go-to-market timelines. It allows for easy flow design and seamless integrations.

Our servicing and origination functions sit on the same platform. It’s a single dashboard backed by centralised data, enabling hyper-personalised insights. This alignment supports both rapid product launches and superior customer service.

Looking ahead, how do you see AI, low-code/no-code platforms, and cloud technologies shaping the future of digital lending in India? What role will Godrej Capital play in this evolution?

Each of these technologies plays a different role. AI is currently at its peak hype cycle and organisations are exploring suitable use cases and partners, but there’s little historical data to benchmark success. Over time, we’ll better understand what AI can and cannot solve, and how it complements process automation and re-engineering.

On cloud, it’s about strategic decisions. We’ve adopted a hybrid model where some workloads on cloud, some on-premises. Multi-cloud is gaining traction too. At Godrej Capital, we are consciously and carefully investing in AI-powered assistants for credit, sales, HR, and more. We’re already digital- and tech-first, and now moving towards being AI-first as well.

Are you doing anything AI-specific with your agent ecosystem?

Yes, our customer 360 platform will be supported by AI agents. We are actively exploring use cases where AI can assist agents in real time for both in sales and service functions. That’s an area we’re quite focused on.

Any particular technologies or focus areas that excite you most for the near future?

AI is growing rapidly. While we cannot ignore it, we also can’t adopt it blindly. Striking that balance is key. Therefore, we’re focusing on security solutions and infrastructure that supports AI adoption safely and at scale. AI isn’t just a trend; it’s an ecosystem we’re preparing to scale responsibly.