Sahil Kini has taken the helm as Chief Executive Officer at the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), marking a new chapter in India’s digital financial infrastructure journey. With a stellar track record spanning entrepreneurship, venture capital, and public policy, Sahil brings a rare blend of strategic vision and grassroots experience to this pivotal role. At RBIH, he is set to spearhead innovations that aim to reshape the fintech landscape and drive inclusive financial growth by building cutting-edge digital public infrastructure in collaboration with industry and government.
Prior to joining RBIH in July 2025, Sahil was the Co-Founder and CEO of Setu, a prominent API infrastructure provider that enabled seamless fintech integrations for businesses across India. Under his leadership, Setu empowered companies with open APIs in payments, credit, savings, and bills, creating an accessible, plug-and-play model that revolutionized how financial services are built and delivered. His seven-year journey at Setu, which he co-founded in 2018, was driven by a singular mission: to make finance intuitive and ubiquitous.
Sahil’s broader impact on India’s fintech ecosystem stretches beyond entrepreneurial ventures. As a core team member at the iSPIRT Foundation, he evangelized the India Stack and worked closely with policymakers and regulators to bridge gaps between technology and governance. His earlier stints at Aspada Investments, where he backed high-impact startups like Dunzo and Capital Float, and as an early contributor to the Aadhaar project, reflect his longstanding commitment to solving India’s structural challenges through innovation.
Having started his career as a consultant at McKinsey & Company after graduating from IIT Madras, Sahil has continually combined business acumen with tech-driven problem solving. Whether prototyping toys at Titan, building mobile PoS systems at Ezetap, or drafting SIM card policies for UIDAI, his career has always been about building systems that scale impact. At RBIH, he now steps into a role that perfectly aligns with his experience and ethos—shaping the future of finance in India from the top.
With a mission-driven mindset and a deep understanding of the financial ecosystem, Sahil Kini’s appointment as CEO at RBI Innovation Hub signals a strong intent to foster innovation that is inclusive, interoperable, and aligned with India’s digital growth vision. His journey from ground-level execution to thought leadership sets the stage for RBIH’s transformative role in the years ahead.