MAM
Ajay Khurana takes the wheel at ECL Finance to drive MSME lending shift
MUMBAI: ECL Finance has just swapped gears in its leadership engine. As of 1 April 2025, Ajay K. Khurana officially took charge as managing director, armed with four decades of no-nonsense banking muscle and a mandate to turbocharge the company’s pivot to MSME lending. Following the Reserve Bank of India’s nod, ECL has pulled the trigger on a leadership move that blends governance grit with digital flair.
Khurana isn’t just another pinstripe suit in a boardroom. With heavyweight stints at Bank of Baroda, Syndicate Bank and Vijaya Bank, he’s been elbows-deep in consumer banking, risk management and digital transformation. He’s also no stranger to shaping the financial plumbing of the country, having served on boards like NPCI and Indo Zambia Bank, and chaired Baroda Global Shared Services and Baroda Sun Technologies to push tech-led banking upgrades.
ECL Finance is currently steering its strategy away from its old-school wholesale roots. Over the last five years, the company slashed its wholesale lending book by a staggering 85 per cent and trimmed its debt by 80 per cent, opting instead for a leaner, cleaner, retail-focused model. Now, it’s going all-in on asset-light MSME lending, betting on agility over bulk.
With Khurana at the helm, the game plan is clear: scale sustainably, innovate boldly, and bring some digital dazzle to the often-boring world of finance. And given his track record, it looks like ECL Finance may finally be ready to play offence rather than just defence.
Brands
Ekart expands IKEA partnership with EV deliveries in Chennai
3PL to handle 600 plus products with 48 hour delivery via EV fleet.
MUMBAI: Flatpacks are going electric and your sofa might now arrive with a smaller carbon footprint. Ekart has expanded its partnership with IKEA to power last-mile deliveries in Chennai, doubling down on speed, scale and sustainability in one of India’s key urban markets. Under the collaboration, Ekart will manage end-to-end large-format deliveries for IKEA across the city using a 100 per cent dedicated electric vehicle fleet. The move makes Chennai the second major market after NCR-Delhi where Ekart handles IKEA’s last-mile logistics, signalling a broader rollout of EV-led supply chains.
The mandate is no small load. Ekart will oversee deliveries for over 600 products from IKEA’s catalogue, ranging from furniture to home décor—categories that demand specialised handling and precision logistics.
Backed by its technology-driven fulfilment network, Ekart is targeting deliveries within a 48-hour window, offering real-time tracking and end-to-end visibility from warehouse to doorstep. The focus is clear: faster turnarounds without compromising on control or customer experience.
The EV-first model also aligns with both companies’ sustainability goals, as urban logistics increasingly shifts towards zero-emission solutions. For IKEA, which continues to expand its omnichannel presence in India, reliable and eco-conscious last-mile delivery is becoming central to scale.
For Ekart, the partnership reinforces its positioning as an enterprise-grade logistics player in large-format commerce. The company already supports over 1,800 retail, D2C and enterprise brands, spanning last-mile delivery, part-truckload services and warehousing.
As India’s logistics ecosystem evolves, this collaboration highlights a growing trend: delivery is no longer just about distance, it’s about efficiency, experience and increasingly, emissions.
