To Begin With: The Enmasse^TM Manifesto

The aspirations of hundreds of millions of Entrepreneurial Households (EHs)^TM, and the industrious communities they form around the world, will drive economic growth and social mobility in the decades to come.

Twenty years of unprecedented economic change - driven by policy, financial inclusion and technology innovations - has created new social, economic and informational connections. These connections have resulted in unbridled optimism and a desire for urgent social mobility. We have participated in and witnessed this change firsthand through Elevar’s investing journey.

We must respond to this once-in-a-generation inflection point - to meet the demand of a billion-plus people for high quality goods and services that are critical for their growth. These solutions already represent trillions of dollars worth of Core Transaction Value (CTV)^TM every year. And these transactions are growing rapidly.

Our goal at Enmasse is to accelerate these households on their path to prosperity. We aim to curate narratives, data, insights and, infrastructure for capital for Entrepreneurial Households^TM. We will establish a brand that reinstates and inspires trust across all stakeholders, from customers and entrepreneurs to capital and talent.

Our ambition is global. The Enmasse journey starts with India and will then expand to industrious communities globally anywhere Entrepreneurial Households share this hunger for growth and social mobility.

Standing on the Shoulders of Elevar’s Journey

Elevar stands on the shoulders of giants – entrepreneurs who build customer-centric organisations. Enmasse, in turn, steps into the future with a vision that is rooted in the credibility of Elevar. Over the last 20 years, it has been Elevar’s mission to fuel the economic resilience and vibrancy of underserved Entrepreneurial Households. Today, Elevar serves a growing customer portfolio of over 50 million households and a constantly but carefully expanding enterprise portfolio of ~50 companies.

Elevar's profound insight into customer experiences, their thesis-driven investment approach, steadfast focus on governance, and unique philosophy of offering 'more than just capital' in building transformative businesses have collectively led to early investments in numerous pioneering enterprises that have created their categories.

The customer is Elevar’s greatest source of truth. Each year Elevarians make dozens of visits to the field and meet hundreds of customers face to face. In the past ten years, Elevar's leadership has dedicated over 1,000 days to customer interactions. These visits take place in customers' homes, workplaces, and core service locations like schools and healthcare centres. Insights drawn from these engagements form the the most important source of inspiration for Elevar’s medium and long-term investing strategies. The aim is to connect with customers on a personal level, understanding their individual, family, and household aspirations, priorities and challenges.

Enmasse draws from Elevar's extensive experience and insights.

To understand the Enmasse proposition, it's crucial to first acknowledge the remarkable growth India has experienced, and then envision the immense scale of growth yet to unfold. Among several countries in the global south with Entrepreneurial Households approaching market readiness, India stands out as an ideal case study due to its significant market size and dynamic evolution.

INDIA: 1991 - 2020 - The Economic Context

The opening up of markets, in the final decade of the 20th century, unleashed tidal waves of economic change that transformed India into one of the world’s most exciting investment opportunities. These changes fundamentally transformed the way Indians consumed goods and services. This is the celebrated “India Story”.

But it’s not just one story. Enmasse sees this as two stories. Two Waves.

India / GDP per capita

2,256.59 USD (2021)

The First and Second Waves

We have witnessed two waves of economic change in India.

The First Wave (1991-2005) was a period in which deregulation and liberalisation unleashed the ability of private enterprise and capital markets to create, supply and generate demand. Policy change was the real catalyst of the First Wave. The Second Wave (2005-2020) built on this foundation and then leveraged two economic drivers with even greater scope for impact: financial inclusion and technology.

Many of the entrepreneurs Elevar supports today leverage the opportunities that arise from the digital and financial pipelines that were laid during the Second Wave. Today these entrepreneurs use this rapidly changing ecosystem to deliver goods and services to Entrepreneurial Households all over India, from Belgaum in Karnataka to Sirsa in Haryana.

The Third Wave: The EPIC Opportunity

So where do we go from here? What will drive the Third Wave? And, more importantly, who will drive it?

Over the last 20 years we have witnessed the India Story from an uncommon perspective: that of households and communities that conventional thinking often relegate to the margins of mainstream capital and company building. Cities and towns such as Sirsa in Haryana and Kheda in Gujarat are examples of district-sized or local Industrious Communities that have not merely enjoyed economic growth, but will continue to drive the country's economic growth every day.

Industrious Communities comprise Entrepreneurial Households full of makers, builders, and growers - all generating incomes, building multiple businesses within the household, compounding each other’s economic activity, with a relentless hunger for better goods and services. This is particularly the case when it comes to high priority core goods and services such as education, health and financial services.

After all, households in Kheda are not just riding the India story; India is riding the Kheda story. These Entrepreneurial Households will drive the Third Wave.

We call this the EPIC Opportunity: an opportunity driven by the Economic Power of Industrious Communities. And to understand this economic power, we have to understand what defines these Entrepreneurial Households and the key driver of this EPIC Opportunity - trillions of dollars worth of what we call Core Transaction Value.

EH and CTV are the foundational concepts that drive our vision, mission and priorities.

Let’s dive in.

Entrepreneurial Households (EHs)

Entrepreneurial Households represent a unique economic model that emerges from years of in-depth engagement with customers. These households are characterised by their unwavering, long-term dedication to transforming aspirations into tangible outcomes. They skillfully manage a diverse array of income sources, strategically combine formal and informal borrowing, and invest in family members' growth. Their spending is not only for personal development but also for business purposes to enhance household income. The defining features of Entrepreneurial Households are multiple incomes and revenues, and the high frequency and strategic nature of their transactions, as they continuously balance their cash flows to meet both immediate and future goals.

Entrepreneurial Households are more than just individuals sharing a living space; they act as a cohesive economic unit. Each member functions as an active economic agent, collectively striving for growth and engaging in transactions with other EHs in their community.

These multiple incomes are dynamic - new ones get added regularly, old ones are dropped.

The income sources within these households are fluid and adaptive; New ones are regularly introduced while outdated ones are phased out. This diversification enables them to withstand economic challenges like the COVID pandemic or adverse climate events. They engage in selective borrowing to increase their transaction volumes, which facilitates goals such as higher education, business expansion, or managing unforeseen circumstances like health issues. On the expenditure side, these households are discerning customers. They seek long-term value in their purchases, investments, and asset acquisitions.

2.5% Credit Loss on $25 billion Cumulative Lending by Elevar Portfolio Companies

Core Transaction Value (CTV)

Every household generates transactions in the form of cash inflows and cash outflows - and a simple cash flow based trial balance of a household will look as follows:

Examining the aggregate value of a household's transactions presents a more comprehensive measure of its economic activity and vitality than solely focusing on income. This approach marks a significant shift from traditional methods that assess household economic health primarily through income. Income metrics offer a limited view; they reflect a household's past and current situation but not its future prospects. In contrast, the decisions a household makes in its transactions offer insights into its future. The choices made today, such as investing in children's education or acquiring business assets, have profound implications for the household's economic well-being in the months and years to come.

At Enmasse, our objective is to drive sustained value to households by facilitating transactions that propel cycles of economic growth. This is why we concentrate on a specific segment of household transactions, which we term Core Transaction Value. CTV represents the entire value of a household's transactions, excluding the outflows related to daily living expenses like food, utilities, and discretionary spending on non-productive consumer goods.

CTV deconstructs a household’s economic activity into a portfolio of cash inflows and outflows that reveal striking new opportunities of the household’s desire for economic growth.

For instance, consider education.

We recognize that Entrepreneurial Households deeply value high quality education for their children and are prepared to invest and even thoughtfully incur debt for it. This creates a business opportunity that goes beyond simply questioning their willingness to pay for education.

The real questions revolve around accessibility to affordable, high-quality schools, the distance to these schools, and the associated transportation costs. Consequently, their current expenditures on this core service may not fully reflect their actual willingness and capacity to spend. Indeed, given access to high-quality education, EHs demonstrate the acumen to strategically manage their financial inflows and outflows to prioritise this key area. For instance, they might allocate income from one source, such as a salary, to fund investments in an alternative income stream, such as dairy farming. This strategy can generate increased revenue, which can then be reinvested into their children's educational expenses.

This is a prime example of how adopting a transaction-centric view of households uncovers opportunities to provide a wide range of goods and services with varying levels of complexity and value.

Since 2003, just 21 EH-listed companies in India have accrued Gross Transactions of $500 billion. Elevar portfolio companies have accrued gross transactions of $40 billion to date:

First $10 billion in 11 years
Last $10 billion in 2 years

Estimating EPIC:

While all households can be analysed in terms of Core Transaction Value, we are passionate about Entrepreneurial Households.

Through the lens of CTV, EHs emerge as dynamic agents of transactional activity, driving substantial economic change. Contrary to notions of trickle-down economics, EHs don't rely on the prosperity of wealthier consumers for their growth. Instead, they catalyse their own economic progress, which in turn stimulates growth within their communities and the broader ecosystem. The CTV of EHs collectively contribute to the economic vitality of these industrious communities, which then ripple out to regional and national markets. This leads to what we call the Economic Power of Industrious Communities, or EPIC.

Quantifying EPIC involves a straightforward yet profound calculation: multiplying the number of EHs by their respective CTV volumes.

These were powerful ideas that were simultaneously new but also rooted in twenty years of intense customer engagement. The next step was to turn ideas into actionable insight and information. To achieve this, we turned to established experts in the field, Praxis Global Alliance. Praxis is renowned for its proficiency in due diligence, strategic reviews, and market sizing exercises for the world of capital. We enlisted their expertise to independently estimate both the number of EHs and their corresponding CTV in India.

Estimating EHs: The Asset Ownership Approach

Praxis, in collaboration with their affiliated partners 1Lattice, initiated their study by engaging with a diverse group of 3000 Entrepreneurial Households across 100 districts in India. This direct, bottom-up approach provided valuable insights, which Praxis used to develop a detailed top-down estimate of the number of Entrepreneurial Households and their potential Core Transaction Values.

Their methodology included a thorough review of secondary sources, government data, third-party research, and their own in-depth analysis, offering a comprehensive perspective on the scope and impact of EH in India.

The initial key finding from the study, built on two decades of Elevar insights, was that Entrepreneurial Households are more accurately categorised, assessed, and identified based on asset ownership. This means that the economic health of these households and their potential for Core Transaction Value is more effectively gauged by considering the assets they own and their investment activities, which show a stronger correlation to CTV, rather than merely looking at income.

This insight aligns with the practices of many entrepreneurs we engaged with who already apply an asset approach in their daily operations. Typically, households in India are classified according to income levels, socio-economic categories, education, and other standard metrics. However, EHs are distinct due to their multiple income streams, and their ability to generate high transaction values, leading to household asset creation–characteristics that do not fit neatly into traditional household data sets.

Sizing EHs : There are ~247 M EHs in India

Praxis therefore adopted a strategy centred on the asset ownership distribution of Indian households to pinpoint areas with a high concentration of Entrepreneurial Households. They selected two specific assets as benchmarks: Pucca houses (sturdy, permanent structures typically made of concrete) and credit cards. Pucca houses are considered the 'gateway asset' - a foundational asset that influences all future asset acquisition and development. If a household has multiple income streams, it's likely they would invest in constructing a Pucca house. The presence of a Pucca house is often indicative of the household's capacity to start investing in other assets and consequently generate multiple income sources. According to Praxis, the number of households in India owning Pucca houses is estimated at 286 million.

Credit cards, positioned at the opposite end of the spectrum, serve as a tool for defining credit-worthiness through the traditional lens. Possession of a credit card indicates that a household has access to on-demand, unsecured lines of formal credit. Households with such access are generally presumed to have the ability to avail themselves of a range of high-quality goods and services. This access is a key marker of their economic status and potential. Praxis' research estimates that there are about 39 million households in India that possess credit cards.

Based on their analysis, Praxis estimates that around 247 million households in India can be classified as Entrepreneurial Households. This estimation, whether perceived as ambitious or cautious, provides a solid foundation for further exploration and analysis. It sets the stage for developing metrics and deeper insights into the economic activities of these households. With this groundwork laid, Enmasse has plans in place for more comprehensive and actionable studies and investigations over the next 12-24 months, aimed at expanding and refining our understanding of this significant segment of the Indian economy.

Praxis Estimate for EHs:

247 M Entrepreneurial Households

Estimating CTV

Once we had a broad indicator of EH numbers, next came estimations of CTV.

Core Transaction Value was broken down into four main components for analysis: inflows (encompassing incomes and business revenues), borrowings, business expenditures and investments, and household spending on core goods and services like education, housing, schooling, and healthcare. These elements collectively constitute the CTV of an Entrepreneurial Household.

The initial step in their methodology was to estimate the sizes of each of these CTV components for the identified 247 million households. This provided a detailed snapshot of the current economic activities within these households. Following this, the goal was to project these CTV components into the future.

This analysis presented both challenges and opportunities. The challenge lay in sourcing data from a variety of secondary sources and datasets, each pertinent to a different aspect of the CTV components. However, this also presented an opportunity for Praxis to construct independent estimates for each CTV bucket. As a result, they were able to develop robust CTV estimates that were not overly reliant or skewed by any single dataset or source.

Praxis estimates that 247 million Entrepreneurial Households in India have an annual total CTV ranging between $7.4 and $9.6 trillion as of FY 2023. Looking forward, the CTV for EHs could escalate to nearly $95.2 trillion by 2043.

For us, the exact current figure, whether it's $5 trillion, $7.4 trillion, $9.6 trillion, or $11 trillion, is not as crucial. The significant aspect is the growth that will be seen for the next 20 years, which highlights the EPIC Opportunity. We believe this signifies the Third Wave of economic growth in India. This projection underscores the multi-trillion dollar potential that arises from the Economic Power of Industrious Communities, marking a monumental economic opportunity.

To dive into the EPIC Opportunity, and learn more about how CTV and EH provide a fresh perspective on the decades of economic prosperity to come, download the EPIC Opportunity report here.

Praxis Estimate for CTV:

7.4 to 9.6 trillion dollars in 2023
Growing to 95.2 trillion dollars in 2043

Three Theses. Two Decades. One Obsession: EHs

This is the EPIC moment. But what does it take to make the most of this moment?

To navigate this opportunity effectively, the guiding principles derived from Elevar’s foundational theses, honed over two decades, will be instrumental.

These principles are encapsulated in the Three Theses: Customer Theses, Enterprise Theses, and Capital Theses. Each of these theses offers unique insights and strategies that have already proven successful in delivering transformative goods and services to millions of customers.

Enmasse will scale up these Theses in three phases and expand their impact to hundreds of millions more customers.

Phase 1: Scaling the Customer Thesis:

Now Is The Time: Our research vividly illustrates the dynamism of the customer segment. It's clear that this segment is primed for business engagement.

Institutionalising Insight: Enmasse is institutionalising "customer insights." This ongoing initiative will establish Enmasse as a hub for gathering and contextualising bottom-up EH data that is directly relevant to entrepreneurs, particularly for go-to-market strategies. Currently, a world-class customer insights platform is being beta tested with a closed group of entrepreneurs.

Two-Way Connect: By capitalising on established trust and leveraging a new brand identity, Enmasse will foster two-way conversations with customers. We are developing infrastructure that will facilitate up to 100,000 meaningful interactions with EHs annually by the end of 2024. This infrastructure is focused on not just scale, but on ensuring that each interaction is substantive and valuable.

By actively engaging with customers and incorporating their feedback into its business strategies, Enmasse aims to align its offerings with the customer base. This is about ensuring that these offerings play a meaningful role in fostering economic growth for this dynamic customer segment.

Phase 2: Scaling the Enterprise Thesis:

Frameworks That Work: Achieving long-term success and scaling in a customer-centric manner demands both discipline and rigour. Essential to this process are time-tested Elevar frameworks that guide organisations towards achieving 'disciplined scale'. These frameworks provide a structured approach to growth, ensuring that expansion is sustainable, strategic, and aligned with core organisational values.

More, Better, Faster: How do you turn this nuanced art of partnering with entrepreneurs into a replicable, scalable product? Enmasse is working on some innovative ideas and building the teams to execute on these ideas. More details will be revealed in 2024.

Phase 3: Scaling the Capital thesis:

Alignment And Returns: The Capital Thesis at Enmasse is centred around aligning interests and incentives, rather than settling for compromises. This is rooted in the belief that customers seek accountability from organisations providing core goods and services. This has significant implications for the business: it insists that investors, talent, and entrepreneurs who venture into this market with alignment can anticipate returns that meet and exceed commercial benchmarks.

Mediating For Scale: Enmasse’s unique position–working closely with both capital allocators and businesses–gives us a unique ability to build alignment at scale. A key aspect of this alignment will be robust governance structures and strategies for managing both real and perceived risks. This blend of structure and strategy is essential in the process of creating infrastructure for capital. More details to follow in 2024.

Embarking on The EPIC Journey

The journey to EPIC begins and culminates with the same pivotal element: the customer. It was the Entrepreneurial Households that inspired this journey. And our ultimate destination? The lasting prosperity and flourishing of these Entrepreneurial Households.

Where will this journey take us?

This journey will be fuelled by the transformative synergy of authentic capital and entrepreneurial spirit. It will channel data and insights from Entrepreneurial Households to every stakeholder, from companies to GPs to LPs. This journey will cultivate an intelligent and perceptive brand that resonates with and uplifts industrious communities.

This journey will, in time, influence pools of capital and capital strategies, and see the emergence of multiple Elevars, each with distinct strategies, yet interconnected in a robust network of individuals and organisations. A network that begins with Enmasse, Elevar and Entrepreneurial Households today.

This journey will be uncompromising. It calls for the consistent rigour and exceptional quality necessary to guide substantial pools of capital towards transaction-intensive households. Above all, this journey is about fulfilling the dreams and ambitions of Entrepreneurial Households.

Today, Enmasse embarks on this path, ushering in a new era of transformative scale, building on the legacy of Elevar’s portfolio.

The EPIC Journey begins now.

Start your journey with the EPIC Opportunity report.

Please write to us at contact@enmasse.world if you would like to contribute to or collaborate with us on future research initiatives.

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Welcome to EnmasseTM

The aspirations of hundreds of millions of Entrepreneurial Households (EHs)TM, and the industrious communities they form around the world, will drive economic growth and social mobility in the decades to come.