By Gurjodhpal Singh, CEO, Tide India
At Tide India, our ambition has always been clear — to build a platform that helps small businesses operate with greater confidence, clarity and control. From day one, we’ve focused on easing financial and administrative complexity for entrepreneurs and improving access to digital tools that support sustainable growth.
Over the past year, this focus translated into progress across three defining dimensions: scale, as more MSMEs chose Tide as their trusted partner; strength, as we deepened our institutional foundations; and purpose, as we aligned our growth with India’s broader economic and inclusion priorities.
As we look ahead to 2026, we do so with a strong sense of responsibility towards over 72 million (official data, unofficially more than 130 million) small businesses that form the backbone of India’s economy.
SCALE — A breakout year that redefined momentum
This year, we crossed a milestone that reflects both trust and relevance: 1 million MSME members in India. It’s especially heartening as we are in one of the world’s most competitive and dynamic fintech markets. The achievement signals growing confidence among small businesses in Tide as a long-term partner.
Our sustained year-on-year growth reinforces that trust, with every new member validating the value we deliver.
Momentum was further strengthened by the GBP 120 million strategic investment led by TPG, alongside a renewed USD 500 million commitment to the India market. This backing reflects strong investor confidence in our mission and model, and enables us to accelerate innovation, deepen our reach, and build products that deliver real outcomes for small business owners.
UK–India Leadership, India at the centre
The past year also reinforced Tide’s role in the UK–India corridor. From participating in the UK–India Prime Minister’s delegation to hosting a UK–India FTA Roundtable, we helped advance dialogue on trade, fintech and MSME empowerment. These engagements helped strengthen Tide’s global credibility while positioning India as a strategic centre of growth and innovation within the Tide ecosystem.
STRENGTH — Building the foundations of a resilient, trusted Institution
Enterprise discipline to support responsible growth
Scale brings responsibility — and this has been the year we strengthened our internal foundations. We invested heavily in maturing our processes, compliance frameworks, governance mechanisms, and decision-making structures. We shifted from “scale-up speed” to “enterprise discipline,” without losing the agility that defines us. At Tide, we believe that sustainable growth demands:
Extreme ownership
Clarity and accountability across teams
Decisions rooted in member value
Transparent communication and robust controls
These principles now guide every action we take.
Cross-functional synergy
Our global teams worked together more closely than ever. Product, technology, risk, compliance, marketing and operations collaborated deeply to strengthen reliability and execution. This alignment enabled us to deliver complex initiatives with greater speed and consistency for Indian small businesses.
Innovation that solves real problems
Product innovation remained tightly anchored in real SME needs. Over the past year, we strengthened our unified digital platform and rolled out real world capabilities including bill payments, Udyam and GST registration, scheme discovery, fixed deposits intermediation, NCMC card integration and structured partner solutions.
Each feature was built with a clear objective — reduce friction, save time, and make business management simpler and more efficient for MSMEs.
People Power: Tideans at the heart of our growth
None of this progress would be possible without our people — our Tideans. Across Delhi, Gurugram and Hyderabad, and as part of a global team of over 2,500 Tideans, our employees bring deep empathy for members and a shared commitment to building meaningful solutions.
Tide India has been recognised as a Great Place to Work for three consecutive years, reflecting a culture rooted in trust, learning, flexibility and purpose. Our teams embody a strong #OneTeam spirit, working in close lockstep to deliver impact — and it is this collective mindset that is one of the guiding lights powering Tide’s growth.
PURPOSE — Grounded in India, guided by what MSMEs need
Listening at the edge: The rise of Udaan Chronicles
We launched Udaan Chronicles to listen directly to entrepreneurs across Tier 2, 3, 4, 5 and emerging rural markets. These on-ground sessions offered unfiltered insight into the challenges and aspirations of small business owners, shaping our product roadmap, programmes and policy engagement. They reinforced a simple truth — progress begins with listening
Women in Business: Strengthening the inclusion agenda
The Bharat Women Aspiration Index 2025 provided critical insight into barriers faced by women entrepreneurs. Our partnerships and programmes translated these findings into action, enabling access, awareness and opportunity for women-led businesses. Supporting women entrepreneurs remains a central pillar of our inclusion strategy.
Serving India’s MSME backbone
Tide’s purpose is closely aligned with advancing digital financial inclusion under India’s Viksit Bharat vision. As we crossed 1 million MSME members — largely from non-metro India — we operated at the heart of India’s digital transformation. With UPI accounting for nearly 85% of digital payments and GST collections consistently exceeding ₹2 lakh crore, the formalisation of small businesses is accelerating.
Through QR payments, invoicing, bill payments, and compliance-led workflows, Tide helps MSMEs participate confidently in this shift. Our purpose also extends to strengthening the UK–India fintech corridor, while on-ground partnerships enable access to digital tools and financial literacy for underserved entrepreneurs, as inclusive, tech-led MSME growth is essential to India’s long-term economic transformation.
LOOKING AHEAD — Converting momentum into meaningful impact in 2026
As we enter 2026, our priorities are clear:
Expand our product suite to solve deeper business and financial challenges
Increase on-ground reach across Tier 2, 3 and 4 India
Harness AI to deliver smarter, faster MSME workflows
Strengthen our position as one of India’s most trusted business management platforms
Continue building an organisation grounded in ethics, innovation and inclusion
We enter the new year with momentum — and with the belief that ‘when small businesses grow, India grows’. Our journey has been shaped by strong partners, committed investors, and a talented workforce across India and the UK.
2025 was a year of scale, strength and purpose.
2026 will be about converting that momentum into lasting impact.
Meaningful chapters of Tide India’s journey lie ahead.
