When one talks about the evolution of financial markets in India, the name Jignesh Shah often comes to mind. Known as the “visionary of modern India’s financial markets”, Shah was much more than an entrepreneur seeking business opportunities. He was a builder of systems, a connector of markets, and a champion of technology-driven inclusivity. His work with 63 moons technologies (formerly Financial Technologies India Ltd.) redefined the way India looked at finance, trade and technology.
In this article, we will examine how Shah strengthened the country's financial markets, the legacy of his exchanges, the global influence of his ideas, and ways in which they continue to shape the future.
Disruptive Beginning Through ODIN
In 1995, Jignesh Shah founded Financial Technologies India Ltd, now known as 63 moons technologies, with the mission to build IP-driven, technology-enabled platforms that would eliminate market inefficiencies and democratise the access to markets, broadening opportunities beyond India’s financial centres as the result.
Shah’s first big success was his flagship broking product called ODIN, which established itself as the industry standard in India. By providing brokers with access to state-of-the-art and effective technology, ODIN was able to capture almost 80 per cent of the market. This one product became the bread and butter of exchanges like NSE, BSE, and CSE. It was a signal that Shah’s vision was not only ambitious but also highly pragmatic.
Revolutionising India’s Exchange Ecosystem
Jignesh Shah and Financial Technologies reshaped the Indian financial landscape by establishing a network of institutions that brought efficiency, transparency, and accessibility to markets. Through FTIL, Jignesh Shah launched transformative exchanges like the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), MCX-Stock Exchange (MCX-SX), Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and more. These institutions digitised trading in several asset classes, revolutionising how Indian financial markets worked.
MCX, Shah’s crowning jewel, became the world’s second-largest commodity exchange and the leader in gold and silver. Its tech-enabled platform connected farmers, traders, and investors, enabling seamless access to the commodity markets, which fuelled MCX to contribute almost 1% of India’s GDP and created more than a million jobs as a byproduct. IEX transformed energy trading by introducing a digital platform that optimised electricity markets, benefiting utilities and consumers, and MCX-SX expanded India’s stock market infrastructure. These institutions, built under Jignesh Shah’s leadership, digitised India’s financial ecosystem, fostering inclusion and economic growth.
Jignesh Shah’s contributions extended beyond just creating financial institutions. Initiatives like Gramin Suvidha Kendras, in partnership with India Post, brought the benefits of commodity exchanges to rural producers, empowering farmers and small traders. Shah’s focus on inclusivity ensured that the digitisation of India’s financial ecosystem reached every corner of the country, aligning with his vision of a connected, equitable market.
FTIL’s Ace Card: Its Ecosystem
Although the exchanges created by Jignesh Shah through FTIL were transformative, an ace up Shah's sleeve made them revolutionary, that ace being the unique and world-class ecosystem support. Jignesh Shah saw that the inefficient workings of the existing players were due to their reliance on the different infrastructures provided by various stakeholders. Shah saw the gap in the markets that his homegrown and technologically advanced ecosystem could fill. To support the workings and efficiency of his exchanges, he built an array of institutions like
1. National Bulk Holding Corp. (NHBC), India’s largest warehousing, agri-commodity collateral management company in the private sector. It managed commodities of over 20 million metric tonnes valued at 42,000 crore. It also facilitated bank funding to farmers.
2. ATOM, an end-to-end payment services provider before the dawn of UPI. It provided a vast range of payment services and solutions through online and offline platforms.
3. Ticker, among the leading global content providers in the financial information services industry. It distributes real-time market data in a user-friendly format, empowering them to make an educated decision about their investments.
FT Knowledge Management Company (FTKMC) is a facilitator of knowledge management solutions to develop the competency of constituents and understanding of the stakeholders in financial markets.
What Shah’s Journey Teaches Us
Looking back, Jignesh Shah FTIL story is less about launching exchanges and more about the art of scaling ideas. Each venture followed the same DNA: disruptive technology, cultural alignment, regulatory compliance, and strong partnerships. Domestic successes like MCX and IEX proved the model worked, while global experiments, from Dubai to Singapore and Bahrain to Africa, showed it could travel across borders.
The key insight here is that Shah didn’t view technology as a product; he treated it as infrastructure. Once the backbone was strong enough, it could adapt to any geography, any regulation, and any asset class. That’s why his ventures were more than business expansions; they were nation-to-nation collaborations.
Legacy of a Global Fintech Architect
Shah’s journey earned him global recognition, including the World Economic Forum’s ‘Young Global Leader’ title. But accolades aside, his work exemplifies what true fintech scaling entails. It’s not about pushing software to new markets. It’s about embedding innovation into the very structure of global ecosystems, creating jobs, building trust, and rewriting the rules of access.
Today, as 63 moons technologies carries forward its legacy, Shah remains its Chairman Emeritus, mentor, and coach after relinquishing all of his executive positions. His vision of democratised finance making access a reality for everyone hasn’t just survived; it continues to inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs who see borders not as barriers but as invitations.
