The finance consultancy industry has undergone dramatic change compared with what it was around 15-20 years ago. Back then, they were large investment banking firms and the mid-size / smaller firms were not really significant or were not so competitive, but now the mid-sized firms are competing against big names and winning mandates. Most of the mid-size firms are promoted by ex-bankers/finance professionals and one such company that has established its strong footprint in the finance consultancy industry as a specialist and promoted by ex-banker is Manhaday Consultants Private Limited. It is a boutique investment banking firm based out of Mumbai, India. The company’s mission “Efficiency is doing things right, effectiveness is doing the right things,” reflects how it is helping businesses attend the success through its services.
The consulting firm has associates all over the world and some of these are very big names in their country. It is also a member of M&A networks which helps it in its international fundraising /JV / M&A / technology tie-up, etc. Because of these international associations/networks, Manhaday Consultants has good Indian corporate as its clients for their international growth opportunities. Today, in mid-size investment banking it is one of the big names in India and has associates internationally in every continent and then Manhaday in near future is planning to have offices in major countries in the upcoming years.
A Full Version of Finance Consultancy / Investment Banking Firm
Established in 2007, Manhaday Consultants was formed by experienced banking and finance professionals with nearly 25 years of experience. Since then, the company has grown from a pure debt syndication firm to a full version of finance consultancy/investment banking firm. Manhaday Consultants management uses their experience, knowledge, and understanding of business / business processes and financial gaps to execute transactions smoothly and faster. Today, the expert team members are spread across the country and have expertise in a specific domain, thereby offering services such as Growth Strategy, Merger & Acquisitions, Joint Venture/International Technology Tie-up, Private Equity, CFO Services/Enterprise Risk Management, and Debt Syndication.
Present scenario
Over the last decade, many things have changed across diverse industries. Similarly, in the finance consultancy industry, today’s challenges are totally different as compared to15-20 years back. A decade back, 75% of mid size finance consultants were into debt syndication and the amounts of consultants / investment banking firms were few in numbers. The present scenario is totally different with specialized professionals for every product / service. Very few firms can offer total solutions or a combination of products / services. Manhaday Consultants is one of few investment banking firms which offers the majority of solutions under one roof. Manhaday management understands that the present challenge the clients faces requires a drone and a microscopic view of the client’s requirement for their growth opportunities.
Standing Out From Other Consultants
Today, the market is crowded with numerous consultants. Therefore, it becomes a tedious task for clients to seek out consultants who have the right skills and knowledge as well as understand their requirements appropriately. Likewise, when a client comes to Manhaday Consultants for help, the client has to be pretty convinced that the Manhaday possesses the right knowledge / capabilities and execution capabilities for their specific requirements. This is where Manhaday Management makes a difference in understanding the clients’ problems, their financial gap, their growth opportunities and coming out with solutions which from the clients’ perspective is out of box thinking. Today even a SME / MSME has to work like a big company / MNC mindset as now the world has become a global village.
Manhaday Story
In the beginning, Manhaday Consultants faced some challenges in signing clients as there was no big financial institute name on their visiting card. But, it was a more of individual professionalism / knowledge / experience and relationship that helped the company acquire clients. Now, Manhaday is one of the leading consulting firms is well established in the investment banking/finance consulting industry for more than a decade. The company has been recognized by various business magazines as one of the top mid-size investment banking services firms in India. The Director of Manhaday Consultants Private Limited, Uday Hegde used to come on TV and he still speaks at finance events / seminars. As Manhaday has been constantly delivering solutions for more then a decade , now the client’s expectations are pretty high as they have tasted its success delivery results. Highlighting his thought, Uday shares, “Today, we have to up the antenna compared to the past services and compete successfully with the best and the biggest names in the industry and sometimes with international firms.”
A Veteran Leader in Investment Banking Business
Uday is a MBA graduate with more than 15 + years of professional experience in the banking and finance world and the last 15 years in the Investment Banking business. Recalling his memories, he shares, “I was really lucky to have worked with some of the big names those days and was part of a successful team where the majority of them today are directors/presidents/heads of business in banking and finance world.” Because of the banking experience, Uday realized that he can venture on his own and can advice clients where they can benefit from his knowledge/ experience / understanding of business across sectors and having lenders / investors’ contact. The seasoned leader is also director of SkyEarthTradecom Private limited where the company takes business development rights/marketing rights of foreign companies for India as a territory. Recently, it has started doing the reverse for SME / MSME companies in India, they are taking business development rights for the international market, and here they have already signed a couple of clients
Additionally, Uday is also a strategic board advisor to a couple of start-ups and SME/MSME firms. Uday proudly asserts, “We have achieved some level of success, built credibility, built an excellent network across the world and we have some great names as our clients.”
Impact of Pandemic on Business
As a seasoned consultant, Uday believes that the pandemic has now put a challenge for all parties involved so everyone will be rethinking on their strategy and Manhaday Consultants is no exception. He says, “I have been speaking to some of my clients and all I can say that the discussion is on a totally different level. I think now we are more like financial physiatrist/doctor to many of our clients. Very frankly uncertainty level is very high but everyone also feels India is one country that will be better placed then some developed countries and India will be a better story for the next 10-20 years.” Now post COVID, the government has a huge role to play with helping the corporate world, organized and unorganized sector, the farming world, etc. Uday predicts that Indian government/RBI coming out with USD 2-3 trillion stimulis and postponement of EMI / Interest and government taxes,etc. He also believes the corona virus will be tapering down in 4-6 months and the lockdown will be there for 45-60 days minimum. The pandemic is worse than 2 world wars/great depression and the financial crises put to gather.
Uday favorite lines
“We keep ourselves updated on as of today happenings in the corporate/financial world, new products both locally and internationally, new versions of services, better local and international networks, and associates.”
“We see our success in satisfied clients and client’s satisfaction is our motto.”
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