Frustrated with clunky payment systems, he created Zil Money in 2018 to modernize financial workflows.
At the heart of Manjeri, innovation is contagious: every whiteboard sketch, every line of code, carries the promise of scalable global solutions.
Sabeer Nelli, CEO of Zil Money, has returned to his hometown and poured resources into Silicon‑Jeri, an innovation hub whose beating heart is incubation‑accelerator programs and Zil Money’s global development center. The goal is not charity; it’s an investment in a global talent pipeline built on hackathons and grassroots innovation. A small‑town incubator uses hackathons and mentorship to produce world‑class entrepreneurs, let’s see how.
A Pilot’s Precision Meets Startup Pragmatism
Related Articles
Sabeer’s career path is as unconventional as his hub. Raised in Manjeri and even served as an airline pilot. When medical issues grounded his flying career, he pivoted to running Tyler Petroleum, growing a chain of gas stations into a multi‑state enterprise. Those experiences taught him to view businesses as systems—logistics, compliance and cash flow must work seamlessly or everything stalls.
Frustrated with clunky payment systems, he created Zil Money in 2018 to modernize financial workflows. The platform now processes nearly $100 billion in transaction volume and links with 22,000 U.S. banks and credit unions, offering instant international payments, virtual cards, ACH transfers and check printing. By building a single ecosystem for domestic and international payments, Sabeer solved the “financial puzzle” that forces many SMBs to juggle multiple providers. That same system mindset shapes his approach to talent.
Why Manjeri?
While most fintech founders flock to bustling tech hubs, Sabeer Nelli charted a different path, returning to his hometown of Manjeri. He believes that Kerala’s high literacy rates, strong community ethos, and supportive cultural environment can rival any metropolitan center. Dubbed the “Switzerland of India,” the region offers peace, quality of life, and cost-effective operations—factors that attract talent efficiently.
Moreover, returning tech professionals bring global expertise back to their families, enriching the local ecosystem. Through Silicon‑Jeri, Sabeer aims to demonstrate that innovation can flourish anywhere, a lesson particularly relevant for U.S. SMBs outside major tech hubs.
US Aesthetics, Indian Soul
Silicon‑Jeri’s sophisticated design is more than just an architectural flourish—it is a deliberate operational strategy. When Sabeer Nelli planned the Manjeri tech hub, he instructed designers to study U.S. corporate environments and replicate their aesthetics. The goal was to create a workspace that feels familiar to global enterprises. The development center accommodates 500 employees and can scale to 1,400 with dual‑shift scheduling, enabling around‑the‑clock development cycles that mirror the speed of Silicon Valley without its price tag.
Open collaboration zones and modern conference rooms reinforce the hackathon culture, enabling cross-functional teams to brainstorm, prototype, and deploy solutions efficiently. Employees report higher morale and retention because the office signals that their work meets global standards, which translates into more stable project teams and consistent delivery for clients. By blending U.S. design standards with Indian hospitality, Silicon‑Jeri positions itself as a trusted extension of U.S. SMB operations—delivering quality without the overhead of a metropolitan HQ.
Silicon‑Jeri advances the “AI-first” ethos—where organizations are structured around AI from the ground up, not as an afterthought. This means talent strategies focus on reskilling and upskilling local professionals to excel in AI-driven workflows, equipping teams with the ability to collaborate with algorithms as much as with one another
Toward a Replicable Model
Silicon‑Jeri proves that talent development does not require skyscrapers or billion‑dollar funds. By harnessing hackathons, mentorship and modest capital, Sabeer Nelli has built a pipeline of entrepreneurs and engineers who contribute to a global fintech powerhouse and simultaneously uplift their hometown.
For corporates, the message is clear: invest in people and problems, not just products. Whether your company is based in a rural county or an industrial suburb, fostering a culture of experimentation can unlock hidden talent and create solutions tailored to your needs.
