From Richard Branson to Rajesh Agrawal, the UK is home to some of the most interesting rags-to-riches stories. The former’s is well-known, but few know about Rajesh Agrawal’s meteoric rise from being the CEO of foreign exchange giant Rational FX and Xendpay, an international money transfer service company, to becoming London's Deputy Mayor for Business.
This is no mean achievement for someone who was almost a non-entity in India, who grew up in humble surroundings in a small town called Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and who had never flown in a plane until he decided to fly down to London 15 years ago looking for greener pastures. With no substantial capital in hand except his parents’ blessings and values, he made his way. With that asset he pulled himself up by his bootstraps to ultimately head globally successful businesses Rational FX and Xendpay.
He came to London in 2001, set up Rational FX in 2005, growing a two-member unit initially working from a small office in Brighton into a multi-million pound business based in London, with branches in Birmingham, France and Spain. A true Londoner, besides integrity, hard work and determination, he attributes much of his success to the openness of Britain – especially the opportunities available here.
The 39-year-old self-made millionaire was the business advisor to Sadiq Khan during the latter’s mayoral campaign. Mayor Sadiq Khan appointed him as his deputy on June 29, 2016.
With a smile on his face, this down-to-earth son of India in a rendezvous with L George and Anand Pillai unravels his journey from Indore to London to City Hall, in between, throwing light on the current political developments and challenges ahead. This is the first ever interview given by Rajesh Agrawal after taking over the new assignment.
What does your new job profile include?
As the Deputy Mayor for Business, my job is to promote London as a destination for doing business – that is bringing in investments and promoting London businesses and their interests; promoting London as a city for tourism. London is the number one city in the world for tourism. We have had more tourists than any other city last year. Hopefully we will break that record this year as well. Tourism also comprises tourism for business and leisure. The inflow of international students is also extremely important. With 25 universities London gets more international students than any other city in the world. We have to make sure that the flow of students is maintained.
The job also revolves around helping the Mayor overcome the challenges faced by the City of London. The challenges, of course, have changed following the EU referendum. And as a result, it has slightly changed my job profile also. There is little bit of firefighting along the way. We have to make sure there is no loss of jobs and we do not lose any business because of Brexit. There are general concerns among the business community, and we have to make sure those concerns are addressed. I engage with them, speak to them, listen to them and reassure them that we are on their side. A lot of businesses are looking to City Hall for leadership.
How do you think the new Prime Minister Theresa May's leadership impacts the business growth?
Theresa May has just taken over. I think she has joined at a very critical time. What I expect from the PM is that the new government must ensure the jobs are protected, the economy is looked after and in the event of any negotiations with the EU, the government must ensure that London has a strong voice, a seat on the table. That’s because London produces one-quarter of the UK’s GDP and one-third of the UK taxes are actually collected from London. Some of the challenges for the new government are – how it negotiates with the EU, how Britain shapes up after Brexit and Britain’s relations with the rest of the world.
Following Brexit the pound has taken a beating. What’s your assessment? Will it slide further?
Nobody will deny that these are uncertain times. One thing that markets don’t like is uncertainty. But with the announcement of the new prime minister, the pound has bounced back a little bit. But at the end of the day if you look at the currency market, you have to look at the opportunity. A weaker pound is also an opportunity. This is an opportunity to give a big boost to our tourism industry. It’s an opportunity for international students because studying in Britain becomes slightly cheaper. I tell international investors that London is still open for business and everything is at 10% discount.
Do you think there will be more investments from India to London now?
I hope so. The ties beween the UK and India, and India and London have been very strong. The founding fathers of India like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, B R Ambedkar studied in London. So historically the connection between India and London is very strong. Also, on the business side it’s very strong. India is now the second largest foreign investor in the UK. And it’s very important we carry forward the relationship. Though it’s too early to say whether property prices have come down, certainly with depreciating sterling it has made it more attractive for the foreign investors.
You were the business advisor to Sadiq Khan during the mayoral campaign. What kind of advice did you give him?
Sadiq is naturally so pro-busines and that made my job much easier. He listens a lot, which is a great quality to have in a politician. He is very engaging. It’s fantastic working with him. The advice were mainly about business policies, what we need to do with the business engagments and the like. I was very lucky. While running the campaign, we had a fantastic product called Sadiq Khan. And now as deputy mayor I have a great product called London. So the job is much easier in that way.
Sadiq Khan has said that he won’t be able to protect Londoners from the economic fallout of Brexit unless more powers are given to London. What’s your take on that?
These are uncertain times, difficult times. London is the economic engine of this country. So it’s very important that we protect London. One-third of tax revenue comes from London. Lot of exciting industries and new employers are in London. And a lot of them are under threat post-Brexit. Our acesss to single market in the EU is in jeopardy. Access to passporting rights too is in peril. Sadiq has already called on Theresa May to say very clearly now that she will guarantee that EU citizens who were living here before the referendum can remain. About 20% of London’s workforce is from Europe.
A lot of start-ups have come from there. A lot of Asian community people are there in the hospitality industry. There’s very large overseas and European population in London and it’s very important we protect them and in order to protect them we need more autonomy. London is a global city. Whether we remain part of the EU, London will remain a European city. That’s why we need more autonomy and more say in how things are done.
The Mayor has also said London should have equal voice in the EU negotiations. Could you please throw some light on that?
Certainly we want a seat on the table. I have been talking to businesses, business leaders and industry associations in the past two weeks. I haven’t come across any business leader who disagrees with the fact that London should have more autonomy. In any kind of negotiations, we must protect London a little bit more than what it has been, so that we are more in control of our destiny. Generally in a democracy it is a good idea to give power to people and it is imperative that we have those powers to renegotiate with the EU.
What’s your take on declaring London as an independent city-state?
Like I said earlier whether we are part of EU or not, London is a European city and will continue to be so. What we are asking is more powers to protect London, its economy and jobs. One-third of London’s population was born outside of UK. It’s a hugely cosmopolitan city. About 230 languages are spoken here. So it is very important London is treated, handled and managed as a global city.
What motivates you and what’s your philosophy in life?
I have often been asked as a successful entrepreneur – why are you involved in charities, politics and things like that? Why don’t you just sit back and enjoy your money? I believe that what you do for yourself dies with you. But what you do for others remain for ever. As economist John Keynes rightly said, “In the long run we are all dead,” so it’s important we do things for community and others. And that’s how the world survives. The world survives on relationships – people to people relations, country to country relations and relation with nature. So relationships are very very important. Just do things for others.
What’s your mantra for being a successful entrepreneur?
Determination is very important because you will face lot of failures along the way. And accepting failure is very important. Also, not getting deterred by failure is vital for progress. And for that you have to be innovative and believe in perseverance. Same things apply for running a successful city and country as well.
With the Bastille Day attack in France, terror has raised its ugly head yet again. How safe is the city of London?
What happened in France was awful. I condemn it. These terror attacks are brutal and inhumane. London being a global city, safety is very important. For that matter, any globlal city, you have to be well-prepared. Sadiq Khan is constantly reviewing the security. London police force is fantastic. We all have to work together in such circumstances. Police are doing a good job.
What advice would you give to people of British Asian community who look up to you as a role model?
Well, it’s not an advice. My comment would be – Britain is a great country and London is a great city. This is our home and we have integrated so well. The social mobility of the Asian community is fantastic. I am proud of that – how people from our community came to the UK in the 1960s and 1970s, and made a mark for themselves. It shows any community by sheer hard work, determination and honesty can come up. And this country provides a conducive environment to grow. Just keep yourself at it and be more active. The Asian community is not only active in charity work but also in education, City, and little bit in politics, athough I would like to see more.
