Minance Wins Legal Battle against Somalian Govt

In a rarest of the rare case of a small Indian start-up winning a legal battle against the finance ministry of a foreign country, Bangalore-based Fintech start-up Minance finally won a battle with the Ministry of Finance, Somalia. Everything was hunky dory for Minance, India’s leading private wealth management enterprise, which is making investing more accessible through a myriad of financial services that it offers.

Founded in 2014, Minance landed in trouble just within a year of its inception when the Government of Somalia wanted to use the domain ‘minance.com’ for its Ministry of Finance. Realizing that an Indian startup held the domain, the Somalians sent a notice to Anurag Bhatia, the founder, and CEO of Minance, asking him to relinquish it.

“I love the name and I had intentions of giving it up,” says Anurag, who decided to fight in a situation where one would expect most early-stage entrepreneurs to give up.

The Somalian Government was as adamant and Anurag was determined which led to the titanic battle between a “tiny” startup and the “giant” foreign ministry. The issue had to be taken to the Arbitration and Mediation Center run by the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

In the stage of establishment which Minance was at that time, the cost involved in the entire process was an added financial burden and the decision to fight was a blind bet. Being an investment and trading maverick, Anurag was confident that the risk he was taking would pay off well. He managed to contact a high-profile lawyer who specialized in such IP cases.

“There was no way we could afford his fees but he offered us a deal. The lawyer was flying to London and if we could tag along, he would help us build the case on the plane,” adds Anurag.

So it was arranged for a Minance employee to take the flight to London alongside the lawyer and then promptly fly back. Based on the solid defense (Minance had the international trademark to the name and was actively using the domain), the gamble that the 26-year-old had played, finally paid off and Minance was allowed to keep the domain name. The entire episode lasted over 6 months and cost the company over 8 lakhs in legal fees and flight tickets.

Minance’s victory marked history in the foreign soil where a startup with a handful of employees fought and won against a country. According to Anurag, “If there is a lesson to be learned from this entire episode, it is the importance of facing down adversity and sticking to what you think is right.”

Today Minance has established itself as a successful and the only fintech startup which caters to investment management needs of the underserved market of SMBs and individual investors. In a span of four and a half years, the enterprise has grown to have a team of 40+ employees and is managing a sizeable clientele of over 3,000 partners with an Asset Under Management (AUM) of over $41 Mn (INR 300 Cr). Having proved itself as a leader in providing investment and taxation services, Minance plans to delve into the insurance and credit segments soon.