We’ve had the opportunity to interview Gaurav Chopra, the Managing Director at Lotus Debt Management. He is an entrepreneur specializing in Restructuring & Settlement of Bank Loans, Consolidation of Liabilities, and Debt Management.
In addition, Gaurav Chopra and his company focus a lot on ethics and team integrity. Their team-oriented work shows exceptional results for the client. Lotus also has social media presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Youtube. They are growing exceptionally under the leadership of Gaurav Chopra.
Lotus has a goal to get a sustainable future for all. Let’s learn about it in detail through our interview with Gaurav Chopra below.
Explain the background of you and the company in detail.
Company Profile
Lotus is a UAE-based Debt Restructuring and Financial Services Consultancy Company offering consultancy and counselling in Debt Management, financial restructuring and settlement of liabilities to Individuals, SMEs and Corporates.
It was established on 12th June, 2016, in the Dubai Mainland vide trade license number 760570 issued by Dubai Economic Department (DED).
The company was established as an LLC with a sole proprietorship and was converted into an LLC with a paid-up capital of Aed 150,000.
Lotus has been registered in Dubai Chamber vide membership number 320021 since 12th June 2016.
Lotus is the 1st and only Debt Management company based out of the UAE to be certified as ISO 9001:2015 in the Quality Management System.
About Gaurav Chopra
I am the Managing Director of Lotus and an inspirational entrepreneur. With over 15 years of experience in leading organizations, I have a pretty good grasp of my responsibilities.
I am also a Risk Management Specialist and also specializing in handling the diverse nature of secured and unsecured financial products. Additionally, I have experience as a Financial Restructuring & Debt Management Professional and an accomplished Collections & Recovery Expert with exposure to multiple geographies.
What are your goals?
We are guided by the Sustainable development goals or Global Goals, which are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. The SDGs were set up in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by 2030.
We as a company would like to tackle the most critical ailment plaguing the working class, which is mental health and also play a pivotal role in reviving economic activity in the SME sector in UAE post-pandemic.
What do you feel is the biggest strength of yourself/company right now?
Our professional coaching and counselling sessions identify the reason for indebtedness and thereby assist our clients in sticking to a budget, coming out from the shackles of debt, and planning for the future.
Behind the experience and banking domain knowledge vests a strong foundation for providing personalized service to customers undergoing financial stress and uncertainty.
What was the path you/your company took to get to where you are today?
Our commitment is to operate with the highest standards of integrity while preserving customer confidentiality by exhibiting superior standards of operational excellence.
Our customers’ interest in innovative ideas is at the core of our strategy. We aspire to excel in the provision of services benchmarking with the standards the Government of UAE sets.
Why did you start (or want to be the head of) this company?
During the 24 years of heading Risk Management processes with leading financial institutions across the Middle East and Asia, it became evident that there is a burning need to provide consumers with qualified credit counselling services on debt problems. Furthermore, consumers should be encouraged to feel confident about and openly discuss their financial concerns.
What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Negotiating payment plans keeping the interests of our clients at the forefront, and considering the banking policies and procedures is like tight rope walking. Our primary objective is to strike a balance between both and achieve a win-win solution.
Give us one word that describes you the best.
Ethical. We take immense pride in remaining utterly transparent in our dealings with our clients and in guiding them toward their journey of becoming debt-free.
What makes you excited about Mondays?
The challenge of supporting financially stressed-out clients and bringing a permanent smile to their hearts makes us deliver on our commitments 24X7.
What do you value most about your culture and vision?
We take enormous pride in creating long-lasting relationships with our clients who become our brand ambassadors and refer their friends and relatives to us for solutions giving us business through referrals.
Tell us about a project that forced you to be innovative and creative.
Following the footsteps of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, we at Lotus Advisory have embarked on the vision of the UAE Government to become paperless. Most of our processes, like the onboarding of clients, are now paperless, and we are doing our bit to create a greener planet. This was unanimously adopted as our approach, considering the agenda of the Government of UAE to become paperless.
What are the strategies of your company, and how do they stand unique from your competitors?
Our commitment is to operate with the highest standards of integrity while preserving customer confidentiality by exhibiting superior standards of operational excellence.
At Lotus Advisory, clients are provided financial consultancy services that cover all ranges of financial needs, from framing and implementing financial budgets to money management and other debt-related issues. The domain expertise at Lotus Advisory analyses the current financial situation and identifies the root cause and potential areas to improve financial well-being.
Debt management consultancy services from expert professionals are available round the clock to assist clients in managing stressful financial situations. At Lotus advisory, we have the best financial consultants in Dubai who are experts at exploring tailor-made alternative debt management strategies to support debt-ridden clients who want to become debt-free in the future.
What are the key values which helped you to overcome the roadblocks/challenges in your career? Tell us something about your memorable incident in your leadership?
Our primary objective is to ensure that 75% of our customers who are provided credit counselling become debt free in the next 3 years. Our trained counsellors conduct extensive research and provide tailor-made solutions with utmost confidentiality and compassion. The primary objective is to support our clients facing financial hardships through customized tools and techniques.
The personalized counselling sessions allow us to obtain insights into the lifestyle of our clients, thereby allowing us to offer the most appropriate debt management program.
We deal with clients from all walks of life, having diverse backgrounds and financial requirements, which gives us insights about their specific needs and finetuning those necessities in line with policies and procedures of banks at times becomes a huge challenge that we enjoy and cherish.
How do you see the company changing in two years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?
Acknowledgement of Debt is a victory and a path to debt elimination, which begins with professional counsellors’ help. We possess compassion and expertise in dealing with unique cases requiring continuous support and guidance.
Our professional coaching and counselling sessions assist our clients in sticking to a budget and coming out from the shackles of debt.
The minimum payment of credit cards usually requires 10 years to clear off the card debt due to the high-interest rate as a percentage of the minimum amount. Our Debt Management program is structured to make our clients debt-free in 3 years.
Where is your leadership going? What benefits do your clients get from your company in this competitive world?
The Debt Management Programs are structured in a way to reduce the debt burden ratio and remain within the Central Bank of UAE guidelines, thereby improving the mental well-being of our clients and making them credit savvy. We believe in not letting debt overwhelm them. We help our clients to get back on track.
Through ongoing discussions, we teach the positive steps to improve credit scores, and our clients learn basic strategies to control their day-to-day finances. Keeping the future requirements, we help our clients find out what creditors are looking for when someone applies for credit. As part of our engagement, our clients can learn how to put their money to work for them.
What are your company’s services/solutions or products on par with the current industry standards? Tell us something about your upcoming products or services?
Lotus Debt Management is the only Debt Counselling company based in UAE that is ISO certified. This stems from the impetus we place on providing high-class tailor-made solutions to our clients undergoing financial hardships.
We are a UAE-based consultancy offering Counselling in Debt Management, Financial Restructuring and Consolidation of liabilities to Individuals, SMEs and Corporates.
We assist in providing solutions to debt-ridden customers by making them aware of their past, allowing them to take action in the present and thereby transforming the future.
Behind the experience and banking domain knowledge vests a strong foundation for providing personalized service to customers undergoing financial stress and uncertainty.
We provide financial coaching and education to immediately reduce financial exposure.
Connect with Gaurav Chopra on LinkedIn.