Manappuram Finance Ltd. is one of India's leading gold loan NBFCs. Promoted by Shri. V.P. Nandakumar, the current MD & CEO, its origins go back to 1949 when it was founded in the coastal village of Valapad (Thrissur District) by his late father Mr. V.C. Padmanabhan. The firm was involved in pawn broking and money lending carried out on a modest scale. Shri Nandakumar took over the reins in 1986 after his father expired.