The Digital Fifth

What The Digital Fifth does

The Digital Fifth is a Mumbai-headquartered, India-focused BFSI advisory and consulting firm founded in 2017 that positions itself as a practitioner-led partner for banks, NBFCs, fintechs, insurers, and investors across the digital transformation lifecycle. Its service portfolio spans six core consulting lines (BFSI Strategy, Product Strategy, Program Management, Technology Due Diligence, Risk and Governance, and Go-To-Market), delivered alongside Corporate Training engagements and a growing productized layer that includes the FinTechGrad online learning platform (60+ courses, ₹11,999 + GST annual subscription), a library of proprietary industry reports (Indian Fintech Funding tracking, insurtech, wealthtech, embedded finance, digital lending), and two flagship annual events (Bharat Fintech Summit and India InsurTech Summit) that collectively convened approximately 4,000+ BFSI leaders and 250+ speakers across 95+ sessions in their 2026 edition.

The firm's revenue model is a hybrid of professional services (consulting retainers, training programs, event sponsorships) and a small but growing recurring subscription/productized layer through FinTechGrad and report series. It is founder-led by Sameer Singh Jaini (CEO, 31+ years in BFSI) and Shashank Shekhar (Co-Founder & Head of Consulting, 20+ years in banking technology and governance), with a 1-10 employee headcount that points to a lean boutique operating model. The firm has expanded geographically within India (Bangalore office, 2022) and internationally (Southeast Asia 2017-18, Middle East 2019-20, East Africa 2023), and has formalized joint-research partnerships with Perfios (insurtech, July 2025) and HyperVerge (wealthtech onboarding, October 2025).

Named enterprise clients span HDFC Bank, DBS Bank, Au Small Finance Bank, Federal Bank, IDBI Bank, Karnataka Bank, Central Bank of India, Union Bank, L&T Finance, IIFL, Pine Labs, Juspay, Perfios, Yubi, Flipkart, NPCI, and Infosys Finacle, while investor partners include Bessemer Venture Partners, Nexus Venture Partners, Razorpay Ventures, Chiratae Ventures, TVS Capital Funds, and Dia Vikas, and payments-network partners include Visa and Mastercard. Operating entities include TDFS3 DigitalFifth Private Limited (the Indian private limited company) and sub-brands FinTechGrad, Bharat Fintech Summit, and India InsurTech Summit.

Name

The Digital Fifth

Legal name

TDFS3 DIGITALFIFTH PRIVATE LIMITED

Website

https://thedigitalfifth.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Digital Fifth is a Mumbai-based, founder-led BFSI advisory firm (founded 2017) offering consulting, training, proprietary research, and flagship summits (Bharat Fintech Summit and India InsurTech Summit) to banks, NBFCs, fintechs, insurers, and investors across India and select emerging markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Services Consulting

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Computer Training (61142)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Emerging Tech (IoT, Blockchain, AR/VR, Edge) Consulting (BPAHAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Learning Content Development (eLearning, Labs, Simulations) (BPAEANAD)

Keywords

• Fintech consulting
• Bfsi advisory
• Digital lending research
• Corporate training fintech
• Fintech industry reports

Headquarters

HQ city

Mumbai

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Consulting & Advisory Services: Core revenue stream from BFSI strategy consulting, digital transformation advisory, product strategy, program management, technology due diligence, risk and governance advisory, and go-to-market consulting engagements with banks, NBFCs, fintechs, and financial institutions.
2. Corporate Training: High-quality corporate training programs delivered to BFSI employees covering fintech, digital lending, payments, banking, open banking, product management, and cybersecurity. Training credentials include participants from major banks and financial institutions.
3. Online Courses (FinTechGrad): Subscription-based online learning platform offering 60+ courses, 50+ webinars, 80+ leadership dialogues, and 8 reports. Annual subscription at ₹11,999/+ GST providing one-year full access to content library including free Bharat Fintech Summit pass.
4. Events & Summits: Revenue from flagship events including Bharat Fintech Summit (BFS) and India InsurTech Summit (IIS). Events feature Investment Day platforms connecting startups with investors, sessions, and networking. 4th BFS 2026 expected 4,000+ participants.
5. Industry Reports & Research: Proprietary research reports published regularly including Indian Fintech Funding Reports (monthly, quarterly, annual), sector-specific reports on digital lending, payments, insurtech, wealthtech, embedded finance, open banking, and regulatory compliance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

The Digital Fifth is a consulting and advisory firm that provides strategic guidance, digital transformation consulting, technology due diligence, risk and governance advisory, program management, and corporate training services for the BFSI sector. It supplements these services with an online learning platform (FinTechGrad), a library of proprietary industry research reports on Indian fintech, and flagship annual events (Bharat Fintech Summit and India InsurTech Summit) that convene banks, fintechs, investors, and regulators.

Product overview

The Digital Fifth is Asia's premier digital finance consulting firm offering a portfolio of advisory services, research publications, and professional development programs for the BFSI sector. The core consulting services include BFSI Strategy, Product Strategy (with Digital/Platform/API Benchmarking), Program Management (Digital Transformation and Bank-Fintech Partnerships), Technology Due Diligence (for investors and BFSI companies), Risk and Governance (DPDPA, regulatory compliance, cybersecurity), and Go To Market services. These consulting offerings are complemented by FinTechGrad, an online learning platform with courses, webinars, and reports, and the company's flagship events including the Bharat Fintech Summit and India InsurTech Summit. The company also publishes extensive industry research through its Reports library covering fintech funding, embedded finance, insurance, payments, and other BFSI verticals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bharat Fintech Summit: India's premier fintech conference bringing together BFSI executives, fintech founders, investors, and regulators for discussions on digital banking, AI-led transformation, and financial infrastructure.
• India InsurTech Summit
• FinTechGrad

Products and services

• BFSI Strategy

Quantifiable outcome

• Bharat Fintech Summit convenes 4,000+ BFSI leaders annually, facilitating connections between fintechs, banks, and investors
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HyperVergecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Joint research collaboration on WealthTech onboarding excellence. Published 'Onboarding Excellence: Redefining CX in WealthTech' report exploring digital wealth management onboarding, customer experience, and AI-driven KYC. Combines HyperVerge's AI KYC technology with Digital Fifth's market research.
• PerfioscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 July 2025Joint research collaboration on Indian insurtech ecosystem. Digital Fifth and Perfios jointly published the 'Reimagining Insurance: India's Leap into the Future' report 2025, predicting $1B+ insurtech funding. Collaboration combines Perfios's data infrastructure expertise with Digital Fifth's research capabilities.
• HyperVergecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWealthTech Onboarding Excellence Report collaboration exploring AI-enabled KYC, automated onboarding workflows, and customer experience optimization in digital wealth management.
• UIDAIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) participated in Bharat Fintech Summit 2026 as a key regulatory stakeholder, contributing to discussions on Aadhaar integration and digital identity in fintech.
• NPCI BHIMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNPCI BHIM participated as a key regulatory and infrastructure partner in Bharat Fintech Summit 2026, contributing to discussions on UPI evolution, digital payments, and cross-border payments.
• VisaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVisa is listed among trusted partners/customers of The Digital Fifth, indicating collaboration in the digital payments ecosystem and event sponsorship/support.
• MastercardminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMastercard is listed among trusted partners/customers, indicating collaboration in the payments infrastructure and digital finance ecosystem.
• CashfreeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCashfree is listed among large fintech partners, indicating go-to-market collaboration and ecosystem integration in the digital payments space.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• PwC India (Financial Services Advisory): Big 4 advisory practice with substantial fintech and BFSI risk, regulatory, and digital transformation engagements in India. Overlaps with The Digital Fifth's Risk & Governance and Technology Due Diligence offerings.
• Bain & Company (India): Global management consultancy with a substantial India practice advising banks, insurers, and fintechs on digital strategy and transformation. Competes with The Digital Fifth on large BFSI strategy engagements.
• Accenture (India Financial Services): Global consulting and technology giant with a deep India BFSI practice covering digital banking, core modernization, payments, and fintech partnerships — competes for transformation mandates and tech due diligence work.
• Praxis Global Alliance: India-focused management consulting firm serving BFSI and fintech clients with strategy, digital, and risk advisory. Larger and broader in scope than The Digital Fifth, but competes for similar enterprise mandates.
• Deloitte India (Financial Services): Big 4 consulting firm with large India BFSI practice covering digital transformation, risk and compliance, and fintech advisory. Competes for enterprise BFSI mandates that The Digital Fifth also targets.

Direct peers

• IBS Intelligence: Global BFSI technology research, advisory, and events firm covering core banking, payments, lending, and digital banking. Overlaps directly with The Digital Fifth's benchmarking, advisory, and flagship conference offerings.
• FinTech Global: Research and advisory platform focused on the fintech ecosystem, including the FinTech Valley and global fintech intelligence reports. Comparable to The Digital Fifth's research publishing and ecosystem-building role across emerging markets.
• Medici (indiafintech.in): India-based fintech advisory and research firm providing strategic guidance to banks, NBFCs, and fintechs on digital transformation, regulation, and ecosystem building — directly overlapping with The Digital Fifth's core advisory practice and India fintech thought leadership.

Others

• Finextra: Global fintech news, research, and events platform. Comparable content and event flywheel to The Digital Fifth, but with a media/editorial focus rather than paid advisory, serving as an adjacent ecosystem participant.

Regional players

• NASSCOM (Fintech & Digital): Indian industry body running large fintech programs, reports, and industry events (including Global Fintech Fest). Comparable ecosystem-building and thought leadership role to The Digital Fifth, but as a non-commercial industry body.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thedigitalfifth
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@TheDigitalFifth
• Facebookfacebook.com/thedigitalfifth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thedigitalfifth
• Instagraminstagram.com/thedigitalfifth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Digital Fifth