WeWork India Appoints ex-SoftBank Country Head Manoj Kohli as an Independent Board Director

WeWork India, the country’s leading flexible workspace provider, today announced the appointment of Manoj Kohli, Former Country Head - Softbank India, Softbank Group International, as an independent Director to its Board. Anthony Yazbeck, President & Chief Operating Officer, WeWork Inc., also joins the Board.

A seasoned industry expert with over 43 years of global work experience across industries, including manufacturing, telecom, renewable energy, and digital sectors, his appointment strategically aligns with WeWork India’s vision of focusing on long term growth and scaling a business in the wake of the new world.

Speaking on the new role Manoj Kohli said, “I am optimistic about the potential of the flexible workspace industry in India, and believe that WeWork India is poised to play a significant role in this growth story. I am excited to join WeWork India at this pivotal point and leverage my expertise in managing and scaling up businesses. I am looking forward to working with the talented team here, and contributing towards the long-term vision and success of the company.”

In his previous role as the Country Head of Softbank, Manoj supported the SoftBank Group and Vision Fund in investing $15bn in over 25 AI-focused portfolio companies in India. He has also aided entrepreneurs and CEOs of key players like OLA, OYO, Lenskart, Grofers, Snapdeal, Uber, Swiggy, and Unacademy, among others, in addressing the regulatory and government issues and scaling their businesses by 10x, providing curated coaching on effective execution of a profitable growth strategy.

Karan Virwani, CEO, WeWork India commented, “In the past few years WeWork India has grown significantly and proven to be a profitable and scalable business. At this critical juncture of our growth journey, I am delighted to welcome Manoj Kohli and Anthony Yazbeck to WeWork India’s Board of Directors. Manoj’s experience in managing and growing businesses of scale and charting their exponential growth will be an invaluable asset for the business as well as me. This also aligns with Anthony’s industry and brand expertise, as well as his ability to navigate complex business challenges Furthermore, their relationships with global partners and investors will be extremely important as we achieve newer milestones in India.”

Manoj has previously served on the board of GSMA, held the position of Chairman of the CII Task Force on Ease of Doing Business, and is currently serving as the Chair of the CII Unicorn Forum for attracting new tech investments in India. He has worked extensively in the US, Europe, China, and Japan and built businesses in 25 countries in Asia Pacific and Africa.

Anthony Yazbeck

Along with Manoj, Anthony Yazbeck, President & Chief Operating Officer, WeWork Inc. will also be joining as a board member. Having served in his current role since 2021, Anthony previously served as WeWork’s President & Chief Operating Officer, International and WeWork’s Chief Operating Officer of Europe, China & Pacific for five years where he played a key role in scaling the European business and leading the transformation of the Company’s operations in China.

Anthony Yazbeck commented, "The performance of the WeWork India business is a testament to the strength of the WeWork brand and product. Flexibility and community is proving to be a powerful combination and, with a suite of flex space solutions, WeWork India is very well positioned to meet the evolving demand for dynamic workspaces across the country. I am looking forward to partnering with the Board as we strive to achieve our shared goals of long-term, sustainable success.”

Having witnessed a consistent uptick in demand for its workspaces, WeWork India continues to be bullish about its growth prospects as seen with the recent round of funding of INR 550 crores in December 2022. This came after the company clocked a revenue of INR 1300 cr in CY22 and an EBITDA INR 185 crores. The appointment of Manoj Kohli will further bolster the company’s vision to sustain the growth momentum as it continues to offer a superior workspace experience built upon its core principles of flexibility, accessibility and community.

About WeWork India

WeWork is India’s largest office space provider, aimed at creating flexible workspace solutions for companies of all sizes. Since entering the Indian market in 2017, WeWork India has been spearheading the concept of flexible workspaces and driving the future of work with over 6.5 million sq ft of assets signed across 45 locations in NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad.

TVS Capital Funds Elevates Gaurav Sekhri to Partner

TVS Capital Funds, one of the largest rupee capital growth equity funds, has promoted Gaurav Sekhri to the role of Partner as part of its ongoing efforts to institutionalise its operations. In the six years that Sekhri has been with TVS Capital Funds, he has led the B2B services vertical and has spearheaded investments in LEAP India, Digit Insurance, and Increff. Sekhri brings with him a wealth of experience in private equity and public market investments, having worked with companies such as Piramal Group, SBI Global Markets, ICICI Bank, and Bank of America.

Commenting on Sekhri’s promotion, Gopal Srinivasan, the Chairman and Managing Director of TVS Capital Funds, said, “This is part of our continued efforts to institutionalise TCF and take the fund to the next level. I am confident that Gaurav’s expertise in B2B product software and logistics and his wealth of experience will continue to help TVS Capital in its focus on supporting next-generation entrepreneurs, to build successful businesses.”

Gaurav Sekhri, Partner, TVS Capital Funds, expressed enthusiasm for his new role, saying, “I am delighted with this announcement. Will continue to work hard and stand committed to our focus of empowering next-gen entrepreneurs and delivering value to all our business partners.”

TVS Capital Funds has raised around ₹3,500 Cr so far and continues to invest in tech-driven businesses in financial and B2B services. The company has been strengthening its leadership team with strategic additions such as Anuradha Ramachandran, as the Managing Partner – Investments, and Krishna Ramachandran, as the Managing Partner and COO. These moves are aimed at building robust institutional capability for the firm.

About TVS Capital Funds

TVS Capital Funds is one of the largest domestic capital PE Funds, with an AUM of ~₹2000 crores in its current Fund. Its third fund backs top-quality next-gen entrepreneurs piloting technology-driven businesses in financial services and B2B/enterprise services. It empowers them with capability capital and helps them build great businesses. Category focus, led by best ideas and combined with an established network of advisors, enables the fund its right to win. TVS Capital plans to raise its next venture growth fund in 2023.

For more information, visit www.tvscapital.in/

Conversational AI Platform Kore.ai Eyes Major Expansion; Appoints Neil Barman to lead Growth in Middle East and Asia Pacific

Kore.ai, the world’s leading enterprise conversational AI platform and solutions company, has today announced the appointment of Neil Barman as Senior Vice President - Sales and Partnerships, for leading the company’s market expansion in the region.

Based out of Bangalore, India, Neil will head Kore.ai’s growth in the region encompassing the Middle East, India, South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

“Almost every large enterprise is looking to deploy conversational AI and the emergence of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) has provided a new momentum to this rapid adoption within Asia-Pacific,” said Kore.ai CEO and Founder Raj Koneru. “There are a broad range of countries to cover here, and a great variety of use cases for conversational interfaces that customers are demanding. In Neil, we’ve found the right pivot who can strategize and execute our vision specific to the requirements of Asia-Pacific.”

Neil brings more than two decades of international business experience running enterprise B2B sales in SaaS and direct-to-customer sales and marketing, partnerships and alliances at companies of various sizes. He has a deep understanding of building sales and revenue generation functions in emerging technology start-ups and scaling organizations across industries and regions. Neil is recognised as “40 under 40” by BusinessWorld in 2023 and “Business Leader of the Year” by CXO Club of India in 2022.

“I’m excited to be part of Kore.ai” said Neil. “As we continue to expand our footprint, we want to deliver our customers the best conversational experience possible. Through its technology innovations and strategic initiatives Kore.ai has shown how enterprises can adopt conversational AI technology powered by generative AI in the most optimal way. We are helping clients improve operational efficiency and bringing greater customization with domain-specific large language models, multi-language support, omnichannel experience, seamless enterprise systems integration and simplified pricing. As a true market leader as recognized by leading analysts firms, we will help enterprises that are keen on creating differentiation by improving customer and employee experiences.”

Kore.ai offers enterprise-grade, no-code conversational AI platforms and generative AI-powered solutions enabling global enterprises to improve customer, employee and contact center agent experiences for optimized business outcomes.

With over 350 customers, Kore.ai automates at least a billion interactions every year through its conversational AI platform and solutions and has so far delivered more than $1 Billion in cost savings to global enterprise customers. Around 150 million consumers and a million enterprise users currently leverage Kore.ai’s platform technology and solutions.

“A significant portion of our developer community is based in the Asia-Pacific region and they are integral to our innovations and R&D initiatives globally,” said Kore.ai Chief Technology Officer Prasanna Kumar Arikala. “Through our Product-Led Growth model and innovative GenAI platform capabilities, we have observed large scale adoption of our no-code platform and AI product suite. With Neil’s onboarding, we expect to see this accelerated across all segments within Asia-Pacific including large enterprises, small and medium businesses, startups and individual developers.”

The company, which closed 2022 with over 127% growth, is looking to rapidly increase the share of its customers and revenue in Asia-Pacific.

“We are in the process of rapidly expanding our teams across various geographies. Our new strategic hire will form a new foundation around our Asia Pacific business for years to come and we will continue to look for opportunities like this to strengthen our industry leadership position,” said Koneru.

About Kore.ai

Kore.ai is a global leader in the conversational AI-first platform and solutions, helping enterprises automate business interactions to deliver extraordinary experiences for their customers, employees, and contact center agents. More than 350 Global 2000 companies trust the Kore.ai Experience Optimization (XO) platform and technology to automate their business interactions for over 100 million users worldwide to achieve extraordinary outcomes. Kore.ai has been recognized as a leader and an innovator by top analysts and ensures the success of its customers through a growing team headquartered in Orlando with offices in India, the UK, Japan, South Korea, and Europe. Visit Kore.ai to learn more.

AiDash Appoints Sanjay Goel (Ex-Walmart & Cleartrip) as VP-Engineering

SaaS technology veteran brings over 20 years of experience operating and scaling global engineering functions

AiDash, a leading provider of satellite- and AI-powered operations, maintenance, and sustainability platforms, announced the appointment of Sanjay Goel, as its Vice President of Engineering. An accomplished leader with over 20 years of experience in engineering and innovation across startups and tech giants, including Walmart Global Tech and Cleartrip.

Prior to AiDash, Goel was the Director of Engineering at Walmart Global Tech, where he led engineering to support multiple Walmart ecommerce markets, serving millions of Walmart customers. He was previously the Vice President of Engineering at Cleartrip, a global online travel company, where he played a key role in rearchitecting services for scalability and stability while developing a people-first, tech-first culture. Goel is also an IIT Delhi alumni.

“Sanjay has unparalleled expertise in building and leading global technology teams of all sizes. His strength in growing high performance engineering organizations will ensure that AiDash continues to be world-class as we scale globally, accelerate adoption, and deliver on our innovative products.” says Rahul Saxena, co-founder and CTO of AiDash. “Sanjay’s hands-on development experience and commitment to building a great culture will be instrumental in attracting the best talent. We are always looking for innovative minds and passion for solving challenging problems.”

 

Sanjay Goel

“AiDash operates in a highly dynamic domain of climate technology and solves big challenges that have a direct impact on human lives. No other products compare with the innovative products built here,” says Goel. “It is very exciting to contribute to creating a greener, cleaner, safer planet from space.”

To strengthen and drive the continued success of its product lines, AiDash recently promoted Niharika Bhatnagar to Vice President of Product Management, overseeing development of the next generation of products. Previously, as Senior Director of Product Management, Bhatnagar introduced AiDash Intelligent Vegetation Management System (IVMS) and AiDash Disaster and Disruptions Management System (DDMS).

The company has seen tremendous growth in recent months with 3x growth year over year in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and number of customers. The company has already increased its Indian employee count 70% in the first eight months of 2022 – from 124 to 212 employees, plans to hire at least 150 more in the country in the next 12 months, and recently opened two new offices in India: a 200+ seat office at the SJR iPark in Whitefield, Bengaluru, and a 100+ seat office in the prestigious DLF Cyber City business park at Gurugram. These offices will host the growing Engineering, Data Science, Product, Design, Customer Success, GIS, and cross-functional teams. Headquartered in San Jose, California, AiDash also maintains other offices around the world.

Having raised a total of $33M in Series A and B rounds of funding, AiDash is backed by investors such as G2VP, BGV, National Grid Partners, Edison International, and Shell Ventures and is actively hiring for success.

About AiDash

AiDash is an AI-first vertical SaaS company on a mission to transform operations, maintenance, and sustainability in industries with geographically distributed assets by using satellites and AI at scale. With access to a continual, near real-time stream of critical data, utilities, energy, mining, and other core industries can make more informed decisions and build optimized long-term plans, all while reducing costs, improving reliability, and achieving sustainability goals. To learn more about how AiDash is helping core industries become more resilient, efficient, and sustainable, visit www.aidash.com.

Merak Ventures appoints Soumitra Mishra as Venture Partner for investments In ClimateTech

Merak Ventures, a sector-agnostic, early stage venture capital (VC) firm, announced the appointment of Soumitra Mishra as Venture Partner for investments in ClimateTech, effective September 2022. As a Venture Partner, Soumitra will look at driving deal evaluations in ClimateTech and represent Merak in the Bangalore startup ecosystem.

Commenting on the appointment, Sheetal Bahl, Partner, Merak Ventures said, “ClimateTech funding is about 5.5% of total venture funding globally; in India, that number is much lower at ~1.5%. We believe that some of the largest companies in the world in the next couple of decades will come from ClimateTech. In the past, we have made investments in the broad climate space and will now go after this sector in a targeted manner, with 5 focus areas within climate: AgriTech, mobility, carbon, climate finance, and digital solutions. Soumitra has been an entrepreneur in the renewable energy and agriculture sectors over the last decade, associated with multiple climate action groups, and brings a deep understanding of this space which will make our investments in ClimateTech informed and meaningful.”

Commenting on his role, Soumitra Mishra, Venture Partner for investments In ClimateTech, Merak Ventures said, “Having worked in the ClimateTech, renewable energy and agricultural spaces, I realize the gap between startups and VC firms. Startups need more than just funding, and VC firms need more than just a pitch. With Manu and Sheetal at the helm, Merak aims to bridge that gap and I am excited to play a part in this journey.”

Soumitra comes with a proven track record of 30+ years of working in renewables, agriculture, environment, and biotech industries. He founded Claro Energy in the year 2011, where he engineered a large battery-less solar irrigation system. It replaced the diesel generators leading to an innovation that created the solar pump industry in India, now valued at $10 Billion+. In the past, Soumitra has worked in leadership position with SunEdison, Genentech, and Biogen where he holds two patents. He has also been an active Angel investor, an LP, and an advisor to startups in India and USA.

Soumitra completed his Bachelors in Technology and Masters in Technology in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. He also holds a Master of Engineering in Supply Chain and Logistics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as a Masters in Business Administration from Northwestern University- Kellogg School of Management.

About Merak Ventures:

Merak is a sector-agnostic, early-stage venture fund investing in B2B and emerging technologies companies that are solving real problems and creating large-scale impact. The Merak team has been investing in the Indian ecosystem for a decade now, of which the last six have been sharply focused on B2B and deep/ emerging tech. The Merak fund is managed by Manu Rikhye and Sheetal Bahl, both experienced operators and investors with 20+ years of experience each.

MPOWER Financing Appoints Madhushri Verma as Strategic Communications Lead

Madhushri will spearhead public relations and corporate communications for MPOWER Financing's global business, including India

MPOWER Financing, a mission-driven fintech firm and the leading provider of education loans to promising international students and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students, has announced its appointment of Madhushri Verma as Strategic Communications Lead.

Madhushri Verma, Strategic Communications Lead at MPOWER

In her new role, Madhushri will spearhead public relations and corporate communications for MPOWER Financing's global business, including India. She will work closely with the CEO and Director of Corporate Strategy from MPOWER’s office to develop and fuel MPOWER’s strategic communications.

Madhushri has over eight years of experience in corporate communications (both internal and external), brand management, public relations, reputation management, and crisis communications. In 2021, she was selected to India’s regional PR Awards’ 40 under 40 list in the startup PR segment.

"We are delighted to have Madhushri Verma as a part of the MPOWER team,” said Mr. Ashwini Kumar, General Manager (India) and Vice President of MPOWER Financing. “Her depth of knowledge in the field of communications will help us develop an impactful communication strategy and brand value. Madhushri’s vast experience, core values, and capabilities make her uniquely suited for this role at MPOWER Financing."

Speaking on her appointment, Madhushri remarked, “Access to financing for education resonates with me personally. Coming from a middle-class family, I can't emphasize enough the importance of education.” She continued, “Being part of MPOWER will be an exciting new phase for me, and I admire the brand for its mission and work culture. I am indeed thrilled to be part of the team that MPOWER is trying to fulfill for deserving students globally including students from India.”

Madhushri is a specialist in brand management, public relations, reputation management, and corporate communications. Before joining MPOWER, she was associated with startups like Samunnati, DriveU, Medibox, and KisanKraft. She started her professional journey as a business development intern at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in the UK. Madhushri has earned a master’s degree in public relations from the University of Bedfordshire and a bachelor’s degree in media science from NSHM, West Bengal University of Technology.

MPOWER Financing, headquartered in Washington, D.C., and with employees worldwide, is a mission-driven fintech company and the leading provider of global education loans. Its proprietary algorithm analyzes overseas and domestic credit data as well as future earning potential to serve promising international and DACA students. MPOWER works with over 400 top universities across the U.S. and Canada to provide financing to students from over 200 countries. The MPOWER team consists heavily of former international students and provides students with personal financial education and career support to prepare for life after school.

MPOWER was named one of the best places to work, one of the best tech workplaces for diversity, and one of American Banker’s top fintech firms to work for five years in a row. MPOWER is backed by Tilden Park Capital Management, King Street Capital Management, ETS Strategic Capital, Drakes Landing Associates, Pennington Alternative Income Management, Zephyr Peacock, Breega, Potencia Ventures, Goal Solutions, Gray Matters Capital, Cometa, AI8, DreamIt, 1776, Village Capital, Fresco, K Street and University Ventures.

IT Stalwart Ganesh Natarajan Joins Advisory Board of Centre for Innovation in Public Policy

Ganesh Natrajan

Dr Natarajan is Chairman of Honeywell Automation India Ltd and Independent Director on the Board of State Bank of India

CIPP is a ground-outcomes-based think-and-do public policy tank

Dr Ganesh Natarajan, a renowned technology futurist, business builder and entrepreneurship mentor, has joined the advisory board of the Centre for Innovation in Public Policy (CIPP), a think-and-do policy tank whose mission is to design and build practical, new-age implementable solutions for public good.

Dr Natarajan is Founder of 5F World, a platform dedicated to investment and mentoring of start-ups, skills platforms and social enterprises. He is Chairman of Honeywell Automation India Ltd, Skills Alpha, Pune City Connect, and the Lighthouse Communities Foundation, and Co-Founder of Global Talent Track, Kalzoom Advisors, and Center for AI and Advanced Analytics.

He is an Independent Director on the Boards of State Bank of India, Principal Asset Management, Hinduja Global Services, LHI Digital, Educate Girls, 1 Crowd, and the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network.

Dr Natarajan led two corporate success stories with distinction: as Vice Chairman & CEO, APTECH, from 1991 to 2001, and as Managing Director & CEO, Zensar, from 2001 to 2016. He is an Independent Director on the Boards of State Bank of India, Principal Asset Management, Hinduja Global Services, LHI Digital, Educate Girls, 1 Crowd, and the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network.

He is a member of the Chairmen's Council of NASSCOM and the National Council of the All India Management Association. He has been Chairman of NASSCOM and NASSCOM Foundation, President of HBS Club of India and served multiple terms on the National Council of CII.

An alumnus of BIT Mesra, NITIE, IIT Bombay, and the Harvard Business School. Dr Natarajan has authored four McGraw Hill Books on Business Process Reengineering and Knowledge Management, and six other publications on the IT industry and inspired leadership of Gen Y.

“CIPP’s solution oriented ‘think-and-do’ approach has brought new energy into and broken fresh new ground in an otherwise academic, ivory-tower-like landscape of public policy, “ Dr Natarajan said. “I look forward to helping CIPP’s team of experienced fellows and mentor young researchers in making India’s public policy landscape more research-led.”

K Yatish Rajawat, Founder, CIPP, said that Dr Natarajan’s joining of CIPP’s advisory board is a matter of great prestige and delight for a new-age policy think tank. “Dr Natarajan’s legendary contributions and achievements over several decades are internationally recognized and praised,” Mr Rajawat said. “CIPP is a most interesting and exciting place for young public policy professionals. They will gain enormously not only from Dr Natarajan’s treasure trove of experience in business leadership and implementation, but also from his current work with social enterprises and start-ups.”

The Centre for Innovation in Public Policy is a think-and-do tank whose mission is to build the best implementable solutions for the largest public good through collaboration and alliances between the social sector, government, the private sector, and civil society. CIPP aims to be the glue that stitches these alliances together and forge a common platform for them to perform.

To bring about impactful change in agriculture, industry and financial inclusion, CIPP has been involved with state and central governments to improve already existing policies to ensure. proper implementation and bridging the gap between administrative goals and on-ground policy impact.

To join India’s most happening think-and-do public policy team, please visit our “Openings” page for internships opportunities.

Simpl Appoints Vivek Pandey as VP-Engineering to Augment the Vertical

Simpl, the market leader in 1-tap checkout, today announced the appointment of Vivek Pandey as Vice President – Engineering. In his previous role, Vivek served as Staff Software Engineer at Google India.

Vivek has more than 15 years of robust experience in computer science engineering. He also Co-founded QGraph – a marketing automation platform offering android, iOS and web push in 2014, which was eventually sold to Taipei-based Appier. He has completed B. Tech. in Computer Science from IIT Kanpur, followed by Masters in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and later an MBA from IIM Bangalore.

Commenting on the executive appointment, Simpl’s CEO & Co-Founder Nitya Sharma said, “We are excited to welcome Vivek Pandey as VP-Engineering. A strong engineering team is crucial as we place technology at the core of our business reimagining the payments side in fintech with transformative products. Vivek will be instrumental in augmenting our engineering team. We believe a strong technology and engineering vertical will help scale up the business and ensure continued operational excellence.”

Vivek Pandey, Vice President, Engineering – Simpl, stated, “In this journey towards revolutionizing digital payments in India, it’s exciting to join Simpl. I look forward to building resilient, dynamic technology systems while contributing towards achieving Simpl’s commitment to simplify and democratize the digital payments landscape in India.”

Simpl, the country’s leading 1-tap checkout network, plans to heavily expand its engineering team and is seeking to hire from top-tier colleges, pan-India. And as part of its commitment to gender diversity, Simpl is proactively striving to balance the male-female ratio in its engineering department. With women leaders heading key functions such as the Partner Success and Data Science & Engineering teams, the company is aiming to establish a gender-balanced workplace in the coming years.

About Simpl

Co-founded in 2015 by Nitya Sharma, Simpl is India’s fastest-growing Buy Now, Pay Later platform meant to make payments invisible and money intelligent. Simpl is on a mission to empower merchants to build trusted relationships with customers, one transaction at a time. With more than 10,000 available merchants and 7 million-plus users pan-India, Simpl envisions creating an inclusive digital payments experience for India that empowers and fosters trust between merchants and their customers.

Simpl is the leading Pay-Later platform in India, providing a full-stack solution for e-commerce conversion. It enables merchants to give customers 1-tap checkout, buyer protection and a pay-later facility to allow them to feel safe and trusted when shopping online. Through Simpl, merchants can provide consumers with an easy, safe and intuitive user experience.

India Accelerator On Boards New Principal Partners

(Left to Right) Romil Kapadia, Satyabrata Das, Harish Menon

Satyabrata Das, Harish Menon and Romil Kapadia have been onboarded as principal partners to strengthen India Accelerator’s global operations and investment expertise.

India Accelerator, India’s only GAN partnered accelerator has recently announced the appointment of three new principal partners – Satyabrata Das, Harish Menon and Romil Kapadia as part of iAngels network, to accelerate the company’s expansion strategy and strengthen global operations. The partnership’s emphasis is on startup identification, angel network expansion, mentoring and global business expansion.

Satyabrata Das is a recognized Angel Investor and joins India Accelerator with over 25 years of experience at scaling multiple organizations across India and Kenya. Previously the Finance Director of one of Kenya’s largest multinational companies, Mr Das has mentored over 20 growing startups across the globe. With his domain expertise and passion for building transformative companies, India Accelerator envisions expanding its geographical footprint and leading strategic partnerships across the globe.

Harish Menon is a respected Chartered Accountant and has over 20 years of experience in financial markets and investment consultation. Registered with SEBI as an Investment Adviser, Mr Menon has co-founded multiple organizations and has invested in over 20 nascent startups in the previous year alone. With his investment acumen and expertise, India Accelerator aspires to scout and school the most investible and promising startups.

Romil Kapadia has a rich experience of over 15 years in asset management and an extensive network of investor relationships. Currently serving as the Managing Partner at Motilal Oswal Private Wealth Management, Romil has been awarded the ‘40 Under Forty 2022’ title by Equalifi and Edelweiss. Under his strong leadership and expertise, India Accelerator endeavours to empower startups in fundraising and business development.

Delighted with the appointment of such strong leaders, Mona Singh, CoFounder, India Accelerator commented -

I am overjoyed to welcome Satya, Harish and Romil to the IA team as principal partners. With their business acumen, leadership skills and vast experience, we hope to vault India’s startup economy to unprecedented heights. Under their leadership and enlightenment, we are also looking forward to scaling our angel network and strengthening our global expansion plans.

Being India’s only GAN partnered mentorship-driven accelerator, India Accelerator has empowered over 100 startups to grow into successful ventures. A leading seed-stage accelerator in India, the company is emboldening startups to build innovative solutions, scale new heights and generate employment in India. The company has also been recently awarded the ‘Best Accelerator of India’ at National Startup Awards 2021 by Startup India.

M C Agrawal of SAIL Appointed As Chairman of B2B E-Commerce Firm mjunction

Mr Mahesh Chand Agrawal, Executive Director (Sales & International Trade Division) of SAIL, has been appointed Chairman of mjunction services limited, India’s largest B2B e-commerce company. He takes the mantle from outgoing Chairman Mr Rajiv Mukerji of Tata Steel.

Mr Agrawal holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Malviya National Institute of Technology (formerly Malviya Regional Engineering College) in Jaipur.

He has held several key positions in SAIL over the last several years and has been a Director with mjunction for the last one year.

On his appointment, Mr Agrawal said, “mjunction is on a sustained growth path, and I look forward to supporting and leading this dynamic organisation which is one of the pioneers in B2B e-commerce in India today.”

mjunction services limited is a 50:50 joint venture of SAIL and Tata Steel. Founded in February 2001, it is today not only India’s largest B2B e-commerce company (having e-transacted worth over Rs 10,53,663 crore till FY21), but is a leading e-marketplace for steel in the world. Business volume of the company in terms of transaction value has soared from Rs 94.35 crore in FY02 to Rs 1,39,824 crore in FY21.

mjunction has been one of the frontrunners in the B2B e-commerce space in India. It has service offerings spanning the entire B2B e-commerce spectrum and covers e-sales, e-sourcing, e-procurement, e-finance and loyalty solutions. It provides a transparent and efficient electronic marketplace where buyers and sellers of diverse goods and services can transact in a model that delivers value to both parties in an efficient and transparent manner.

Broadly, mjunction has two service categories: e-selling, that includes both forward and reverse auctions; and e-procurement. Some of the key categories it has experience and expertise in, include foodgrains, tea, pulses & oilseeds, telecom spectrum, coal, media rights for cricket, oil & gas fields, industrial plots, land, mining, iron ore, idle assets and scrap.

mjunction has evolved platforms for steel, coal, idle assets, agro commodities and minerals – they are transactional platforms which facilitate both sides of the supply chain. In 2020, it launched an electronic marketplace for tea in Assam. And in 2021, it launched its second e-marketplace for non-moving spares, called mjValueMart.

mjunction’s growth has not only been in terms of transactional value, revenue and profits. In the last two decades, it has established a national footprint with presence in more than 40 locations all over the country, and is headquartered in the city of Kolkata. Starting out with a team of less than six people at inception, today more than 900 people from different professional and academic backgrounds are working on growing the company at a scorching pace. Internationally, it has a business footprint in Australia, Singapore, UK and the United Arab Emirates. mjunction also has its own offices in UAE and UK.

mjunction abides by its guiding principles of Customer Focus, Innovation, Excellence and Integrity in all its business processes and with regard to all its internal and external stakeholders. As of now we have 3 lakh entities transacting on our various platforms.

mjunction is ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001:2013 certified and is appraised at CMMI Level 5. It won the “Best eCommerce Company of the Year” Award in the “ET NOW Making of Developed India Awards” 2018.

mjunction is a socially conscious organisation, imparting basic computer and communication training to the underprivileged through its trust ejunction, not only making them employable, but also creating employment opportunities for them. Since 2007, it has touched over 50,000 lives, based largely on the employee volunteering model, and has created more than 15,000 employment opportunities.

https://www.mjunction.in/

Vandana Sharma, former Myntra AVP, joins SuperGaming as VP, People

Vandana Sharma served in the Indian army from 1996 to 2006

Her previous organisations include Wipro Ltd, GMR Group, TNT, and Teamlease.

SuperGaming, India’s one of India’s leading gaming companies, is pleased to announce that Vandana Sharma joins the company as VP, People. In her role, Vandana will be heading the People function and also act as the bridge between the management team and various departments at SuperGaming.

Vandana brings over 24 years of diverse experience to SuperGaming. Previously, Vandana was the Head of Human Resources for Myntra’s Supply Chain Organisation from the early days until the Flipkart acquisition. In addition to this she led Organisation Culture initiatives at Myntra. She was also the Chief People Officer at HolidayIQ before foraying into her entrepreneurial journey in Aug 2017 when she founded StartupPeopleConsulting. Her contributions also include many value chain projects and people initiatives across organisations like Wipro Ltd, GMR Group, TNT, and Teamlease.

Before her highly successful corporate career, Vandana served the Indian Army as a Major for 10 years from 1996 to 2006. Her contribution to the Kargil War in 1999 has been recorded and commended in the Military History of Army Ordnance Corps.

Vandana is also a renowned TEDx speaker and Life and career coach.

She was the Linkedin Top Voice, India for 2019 and has been awarded as a women icon Asia Pacific by BERG Singapore in 2017.

"Vandana is the perfect addition to our SuperGaming team. She brings a blend of rich people management experience, exceptional leadership skills, and motivating work ethic. During our discussions, her decisiveness and desire to lead stood out, qualities she has developed during her army days. Vandana will lead the way as we continue to bring in the best gaming talent in India and put India on the global gaming map," said Roby John, founder of SuperGaming.

"I have always advocated building an epitaph over a resume. This will be one of those stories. At SuperGaming, we are building the coolest workplace for our Supers to continue doing their best work within a great work culture. I am delighted to be a Super, game on," stated Vandana Sharma, Vice President, People.

Vandana’s arrival follows the end of a successful 2021 for SuperGaming in which the company raised USD 5.5 million in funding, reached a milestone of 50 million players for its game, MaskGun and launched the highly popular Squid Royale mode in its premier social game, Silly Royale.

About SuperGaming

SuperGaming is one of India's leading gaming companies founded by Roby John, Sanket Nadhani, Christelle D'cruz, Sreejit J, and Navneet Waraich. Along with building popular mobile games such as MaskGun, Silly Royale, and Tower Conquest, it has invested deeply in building its own gaming engine for running hyperscale, real-time multiplayer games that included the official PAC-MAN game.

Additionally, it has launched Bored, a suite of games for remote teams, and is in the process of bringing Indus to market — a made-in-India-for-the-world battle royale slated to launch in 2022. This multi-genre portfolio is indicative of the versatility and depth in game development that the 5 member founding team brings to the table. SuperGaming has 150 employees and is headquartered in Pune. For more information visit https://www.supergaming.com/.

Serial Technology Entrepreneur Sanjeev Dahiwadkar Joins Raphacure Board

Sanjeev Dahiwadkar 

Leading digital healthcare services provider Raphacure on Wednesday announced that serial technology entrepreneur Sanjeev Dahiwadkar has joined the company’s board.

Dahiwadkar is a reputed technology entrepreneur based in the United States and has more than two decades of experience in setting and scaling up several technology ventures across the world. He has not only designed and developed numerous patented tech products but is also a visionary technology leader with an impeccable understanding of the global technology markets.

With a knack for spotting the new technology trends, Dahiwadkar currently heads four technology companies- WipeOut Inc, Cognota Healthcare Technologies, IT Shastra India Pvt Ltd & Moringa Techsolv, which he has founded. He is also the founder member of US-based leading IT services company IndiSoft, which has crossed many milestones in the mortgage industry under his leadership. Winner of many industry awards, Dahiwadkar has been deeply involved in the high-tech business for the last 20 years, half of them in the startup scene. He has seen every stage of a technology venture starting from inception to maturity and has driven many strategies, key partnerships, and venture creation initiatives throughout his career. As a thought leader, he has penned many books on self-help and business strategies and is actively giving back to the society through India Asha Foundation.

Founder & Managing Director of RaphaCure, Jeya Kumar, welcoming Sanjeev Dahiwadkar to the Board, said, “We at Raphacure, are proud to welcome Mr. Sanjeev Dahiwadkar into the company’s Board. Sanjeev is a self-made & passionate serial tech entrepreneur and a disruptor. He brings in deep expertise in health tech delivery solutions from minimum viability products to complex global solutions. As an entrepreneur with skin in the game, he believes in leading from the front. His extensive and in-depth business understanding of emerging technologies will bring in tremendous value to the Board and to the company."

"Technology is a force for the greater good. The current pandemic has shown how mankind can leverage technology to save millions of lives. As RaphaCure under the leadership of Jeya Kumar embarks on a journey to provide critical & timely healthcare at the remotest location of India, I feel humbled to be part of this mission. I look forward to working with the Board closely on several strategic matters," said Sanjeev Dahiwadkar, Chief Executive Officer of Cognota Healthcare.

As a leading healthtech company, RaphaCure is bringing in a paradigm shift in the Indian healthcare landscape. Tens of thousands of patients are benefitting from the company’s cutting-edge digital platforms that enable seamless access to healthcare services in remote locations.

Users can avail doctor on call, diagnostic tests, Covid19 care, vaccination, ambulance service, wellness activities, pharmacy, fitness, mental wellness, elder’s care, and corporate packages at their preferred location. The company is currently building a team of professionals in its mission to provide healthcare services in the most remote areas of India.

About RaphaCure:

RaphaCure is a leading healthcare management company in India that provides a host of services including tele-medicine, diagnostic tests, COVID care and wellness solution to individual patients and corporate firms. It has developed hybrid service model comprising both online and on-premise to serve people at their nearest pincodes. Headquartered in Bangalore, the company has tie-ups with more than 100 hospitals across India. It also counts more than 50 marquee corporate houses as its clients in the wellness services segment.

B2B Payments Platform PayMate Launches in KSA; Appoints ex-Visa Kevin Phalen as Independent Director

Launches Into The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

PayMate announces its launch in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Local large enterprises who adopt the PayMate platform can use bank-issued commercial cards on the platform to make early payments towards supplier invoices into their bank accounts and extend their days payables. All payments made and received using the platform will be automatically reconciled, giving a clear single view into the business’s cash flow. The users will also have access to the platform’s custom approval workflows, APIs, and integrations with existing legacy ERPs for continuity in operations.

Recently PayMate announced the launch of its B2B payments platform in the UAE that it believes will change the way in which businesses will manage their Accounts Payables and Accounts Receivables (AP & AR), in partnership with prominent financial institutions – Visa, a world leader in digital payments, and Citibank, a leading provider of global commercial card solutions. This partnership will enable unified settlement of corporate card payments directly into suppliers’ bank accounts.

Speaking on the company’s expansion into KSA, Ajay Adiseshann, Managing Director & Chairman, PayMate India Private Limited, says “We are going full steam ahead by offering our B2B payments platform in KSA after going live in UAE recently. The platform will provide end-to-end automation to its users which we believe will deliver the immediate benefits of our platform to these customers in terms of speed of payments and transparency over their cashflows and finances. Further, we believe that the adoption of the PayMate platform will add value to businesses who are facing regular payment delays.”

Additionally, PayMate has appointed Kevin Phalen, with experience in the global payments and financial services space, as an Independent Director, effective December 13, 2021. Kevin’s strategic insights will help the PayMate team in diverse areas including global expansion. Kevin has most recently worked at Visa Inc. (Visa) as their Head of Global Commercial Business and has experience in the payments industry.

On Kevin’s appointment, Ajay adds, “We are elated to have Kevin on-board at PayMate. Kevin’s experience will help us grow our global footprint and provide the PayMate B2B payments platform to a wider audience.”

Kevin Phalen further adds, “I am equally excited to join PayMate, one of the leading providers of financial technology solutions that digitize, automate and streamline B2B payments in supply chains and offers a cloud-based platform to customers for all their supply chain payments, statutory payments and bill payments. This is a booming sub-set of the overall payments industry in which PayMate, through its platform is offering supplementary avenues for businesses to use commercial cards and automate their end-to-end processes. Together, I am of the opinion, we will create a wider base of PayMate users across the globe.”

PayMate is a Visa certified Business Payment Solution Provider (BPSP) and is actively gearing up to offer its B2B payments platform and working capital offerings into other countries in CEMEA region in partnership with Visa and local Financial Institution partners. As of September 30, 2021, the PayMate platform is being used by more than 128,000 Indian businesses.

About PayMate

PayMate is one of the leading providers of financial technology solutions that digitize, automate, and streamline business to business payments in supply chains. The PayMate platform provides upgradation from traditional paper-based workflows to software-driven workloads with digital payment streams like digital invoicing and several complementary features. The company has a presence in South Asia (India) and UAE and is aiming to expand across CEMEA.

CoinSwitch Kuber Appoints Industry Veteran Ashish Chandra as General Counsel

Ashish Chandra joins CoinSwitch Kuber with over 20 years of experience across internet and tech giants including WhatsApp India, Netflix, and eBay.

CoinSwitch Kuber, India's largest (in terms of user base) and the most-valued crypto unicorn, has appointed Ashish Chandra as the General Counsel. Chandra will play a pivotal role in building a conducive legal framework for the business as crypto-asset adoption continues to grow amidst the mainstreaming excitement.

During the last two decades, Chandra has played an active role in the evolution of the legal and regulatory ecosystem of fintech in India. He is known in the industry for his contribution to the fintech industry from its early days of ATMs and cheque truncation technologies, to building the payment intermediaries and payment wallets, and most recently UPI-based WhatsApp Payments in India.

Most recently, Chandra was the Associate General Counsel of WhatsApp India and was handling its legal, regulatory, and litigation affairs.

Ashish Singhal, Founder, and CEO, CoinSwitch Kuber, said, "At CoinSwitch Kuber, we are building an asset investment platform that regulators and customers can trust. In our endeavour to simplify Crypto investing with customer protection at the center, I am delighted to welcome Ashish Chandra to the team. Ashish's unparalleled experience in launching revolutionary products in the fintech space, coupled with his understanding of regulations and jurisprudence in the overall Indian internet and technology, will further enable us to capture our customers' lifetime value with investment as the use case."

Ashish Chandra, General Counsel, CoinSwitch Kuber, said, "I have been following the Crypto industry developments since 2013. Crypto can play a crucial role in shaping the future of fintech while keeping customer protection at the forefront. I am excited to be part of CoinSwitch Kuber and contribute to our mission of making money equal for all by building a platform that investors and regulators can trust."

CoinSwitch Kuber has raised $260 million in Series C funding from Coinbase Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) in September 2021 to become India's most valued crypto Unicorn at a valuation of $1.9 billion. In October 2021, the company crossed 11 million registered users in a record 15 months and now plans to deliver diverse investment options to its growing customer base.

The Crypto unicorn has been expanding its senior leadership team over the past few months with leadership level appointments, including Krishna Hegde (Senior Vice President - New Initiatives), Sarmad Nazki (CFO), Jayram Krishnan (VP – Product), Nishant Das (Global Head of Talent Acquisition), and Zeeshan Ramlan (Director and Head of HR).

About CoinSwitch Kuber

Founded in 2017 by Ashish Singhal, Govind Soni, and Vimal Sagar as a global aggregator of crypto exchanges, CoinSwitch Kuber is India's largest and most valued crypto unicorn with more than 13 million users. Today, users can choose from over 80 coins, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin. The company started its India operations in June 2020 to make Crypto investing as easy as ordering food online. Backed by reputed investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Paradigm, and Coinbase Venture, CoinSwitch Kuber is creating an investment ecosystem that simplifies investing in Crypto for retail users. For more information, visit: www.coinswitch.co

Elron Ventures Supports Portfolio Companies with Four New C- Suite Leaders on Their Advisory Board

Elron Ventures’ four new advisory board members are industry innovators, entrepreneurs, and world-class technology leaders. Their strategic insights guide portfolio companies’ innovation as they penetrate new markets.

Elron Ventures, a leading Israeli early-stage investment firm focusing on cybersecurity and enterprise software startups, invited four industry leaders and world-class domain experts to join their Advisory Board. These leaders are Jeff Trudeau, CISO of Chime and a seasoned security leader, Gil Gur Arie, Chief Global Data Insights & Analytics at Ford Motor Company, Al Ghous, CISO of Snapdocs and Co-Founder of SVCI, and Dr. Selim Aissi, a technology & cybersecurity leader.

The new venture advisory board will share their expertise in assisting Elron Ventures with its investment strategy, providing assistance in identifying the right product marketing position, and creating stronger connections with relevant communities and investors. Through the advisory board’s leadership team, Elron Ventures’ portfolio companies will receive ongoing guidance and support throughout their lifecycle, strengthening both the portfolio companies and Elron Ventures.

Gil Gur Arie

Jeff Trudeau, CISO at a large FinTech, brings crucial cross-market product and investment insight with his extensive security experience in financial services, FinTech, healthcare, and his experience with Silicon Valley CISO Investments (SVCI). Jeff has also been awarded CISO of the Year, and Top 100 CISO’s of 2021.

 

Jeff Trudeau

Dr. Selim Aissi

Al Ghous

Another advisor, Gil Gur Arie, brings knowledge beyond his Ford Motor Company expertise. This includes being a retired colonel in the Israeli Military Intelligence Corps, unit 8200, and working with companies to develop their Big Data strategies. He brings two decades of recognition growth channels through data science and AI capabilities.

Enhancing Elron Ventures’ cybersecurity expertise, Al Ghous brings portfolio companies direct access to the Silicon Valley investment ecosystem. In addition to being active in various cybersecurity organizations and consortiums, Al is also a member of several advisory boards, where he helps founders focus on product, market fit, strategy, and fundraising. In addition, Selim Aissi will be joining the advisory board as a cybersecurity leader and innovator with experience working on breaking technologies at Intel and Visa. As a board member for multiple startups, Selim has been recognized for security innovation and leadership and received several awards, including the 2019 CISO of the Year Award, Top 100 Global CISOs, and Most Influential CISOs.

“We are excited about the multidisciplinary group joining our board,” said Elik Etzion, Elron Ventures Head of Enterprise Software and Cybersecurity Investments. “This plays a major role in Elron Ventures’ value-creation strategy. As early-stage investors, we are team players in every portfolio we invest in. With that in mind, we are always evolving to prepare our companies better to meet the business and technology challenges of today and tomorrow. This group will boost our portfolio companies’ potential for success by guiding them through some of the most challenging stages of an early-stage company.” Said Etzion.

Driving Growth from India's Retail and Fast-food Sectors, Cloud-based Mapping Software Firm GapMaps Appoints New Client Services Director

Brands monitoring pedestrian activity in post-COVID times to better understand and plan for physical locations

GapMaps, the Australian cloud-based mapping software specialist helping organisations with network strategies and location intelligence planning, continues to expand its international presence, which now extends to 21 countries including India.

To capitalise on this growth opportunity, GapMaps has appointed Subhashish Dey as Client Services Director. Mr Dey is an experienced location intelligence specialist who brings a unique and expert perspective to clients in India and across the Asia-Pacific region.

Having worked with NielsenIQ for many years, he has expertise working with some of the most accurate data sources available in India, which combined with the power and analytical capability of the GapMaps platform, provides key insights for clients planning network location decisions.

Despite COVID-19, the retail sector has adapted to new customer demand patterns and built new channels to market. In India, GapMaps has seen strong growth in the fast-food delivery channel, which is creating demand for data and insights that enable retailers to better plan for and capture the potential of this growing market.

“Since 2018, we’ve been adding five new markets each year and double-digit revenue growth year-on-year,” says Anthony Villanti, GapMaps Managing Director and Founder.

“This growth is due to the ease-of-use and sophistication of our mapping software, which uses the very latest demographic, government and industry data to help clients choose the right physical location specific to their business needs.

“Today, we have approximately 500 brands using GapMaps in sectors where a physical location is required, such as fitness, fuel, grocery, quick service restaurant, shopping centres and convenience stores,” adds Villanti.

Tim Shaw, GapMap’s Director, Market Planning, says, “Many of our customers, especially the global brands, have encouraged us to enter new markets so they can use GapMaps overseas. This contributes to decisions on where we expanded the business.”

As India emerges from COVID-19 restrictions GapMaps is observing and monitoring increases in pedestrian activity in central areas, shopping malls and other retail precincts.

“What’s been interesting is the variability in the COVID-19 recovery process,” adds Shaw. “We expected to see variability between countries due to different lockdown restrictions and when those were loosened or removed. However, we see significant variation in the pace of recovery between large and small shopping malls and central precincts, an inconsistency observed across large urban centres when compared with smaller urban and regional centres.

“The ability for brands to access these insights means they can more effectively manage their physical store networks through the recovery and plan for what’s increasingly looking like a ‘new normal’ in a post-pandemic world.”

GapMap’s clients contributing to international growth include brands like Domino’s, KFC, Starbucks, Burger King, Subway and McDonalds. Eat’n’Go, the franchisee for Domino’s, Cold Stone and Pinkberry in Kenya and Nigeria, all benefitting from the data insights GapMaps provides.

“GapMaps has a unique ability to create high quality location intelligence data and insights in some very data-challenged countries,” says Pat McMichael, Group Managing Director and CEO, Eat'n'Go.

“The quality of their data and simple to use platform has enabled me to introduce world class market and network planning processes to businesses where network planning had previously been quite rudimentary.”

Growth Strategy

“Additionally, where GapMaps sees significant growth opportunity, we back ourselves and proactively enter a market and build a local client base,” adds Shaw. “This combination has proven to be a good growth strategy for the business.

“In India, quick service restaurants are one of the fastest growing sectors. Although population growth has slowed down in recent years, the consuming class growth can be up to four times that rate, which is driving store and shopping precinct investments from global brands.”

GM Platform in India

  

Access to demographic data in some markets has traditionally been challenging, with a reliance on census data that can be more than a decade old. That data is often too broad and not appropriate for local catchment analysis to support a location decision.

  
"With GapMaps we can analyse different local demographic, industry and government data to provide insights at a granular level, often drilling down to a 100 - 250 metre grid to pinpoint an optimum store catchment,” says Shaw. “That gives customers the same market planning processes and experience they use in Australia.”

Sector Expansion

“Aside from retail, GapMaps will expand into some of its other key sectors already supported in Australia like aged care, medical and health, as data in these international countries becomes more accessible,” adds Shaw. “For now, in India, our focus is on retail and food delivery, which is where we can add immediate value to our clients.

“Although the pandemic has impacted retail categories like food and hospitality, it has created an environment where global and local brands are using the time to reset, rethink and reassess their network planning strategies and physical location decisions, in preparation for post-lockdown.”

A GapMaps Advisory team has also been established to support customers in all markets. This team, which is the same people who built the GapMaps platform, provide consulting services, in-depth data analysis and research to help clients with new insights, strategies, and business plans.

About GapMaps

Founded in 2013, GapMaps is an Australian-built and owned company with global capabilities, empowering decision makers in multiple industry sectors refine their network strategies with location intelligence and demographics. Its dynamic products can be easily adapted for any market or industry and today is being effectively used by more than 500 brands in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Middle East and Africa to make location intelligence data easily obtainable for more accurate business decision-making.

Mswipe Appoints Rohit Agrawal as CEO of Its Lending Arm Mcapital

Rohit Agrawal CEO Mcapital

Envisions achieving Rs 1,000 crore AUM by March 2024

Mcapital, the lending arm of Mswipe, today announced the appointment of Rohit Agrawal as Chief Executive Officer.

Rohit, who has more than 15 years of experience in financial services and lending, will spearhead Mcapital with a view to achieve Rs 1,000 crore AUM by March 2024.

In his new role, Rohit will expand Mswipe’s core payments business by building a robust merchant financing and small loans vertical through Mcapital. He will also oversee the adaptation of innovative technology in creating new credit products for SMEs.

Rohit’s appointment is a crucial step towards strengthening the core leadership team at Mswipe.

Rohit, a CA by profession, joined Kotak Mahindra Bank in 2006. Since then, he has worn many hats including working for the bank’s mid-market business and heading its e-commerce and new-age business.

Mswipe CEO Ketan Patel said, “We are delighted to welcome Rohit, whose vast experience in the lending business will accelerate our ongoing efforts to provide small merchants with quick and easy access to formal credit. I look forward to working with him in developing cost-effective and consumer-friendly solutions for small merchants and expanding our lending business. Rohit’s understanding of the industry will be invaluable for the growth of our company and its vision of transforming into a digital SME bank.”

About his new role, Rohit Agrawal said, “I am excited on my appointment as CEO of Mcapital and I look forward to building a sizeable, profitable and risk-efficient lending business. Together, we are committed to strengthening the merchant ecosystem in India and making SMEs our preferred partners.”

As India’s largest independent POS acquirer with 6.75 lakh POS and 11 lakh QR merchants, Mswipe intends to target the highly underserved SME segment with access to formal credit via Mcapital.

About Mswipe

Mswipe aims to be India’s largest financial services platform for SMEs by providing seamless, omnichannel digital payments and other value-added financial services. It is the largest independent mobile POS merchant acquirer and network provider with 6.75 lakh POS and 11lakh QR merchants across the country. Mswipe offers a host of payment acceptance services for SME’s enabling them to accept - cards, wallets, mobile payment apps and bank apps, contactless and QR payments. Headquartered in Mumbai, Mswipe began operations in 2011. Its key investors include B Capital, UC-RNT, Falcon Edge Capital, Matrix Capital Partners, DSG Partners and Epiq Capital.

Alibaba Group Announces CFO Succession

Business Wire India

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA and HKEX: 9988, “Alibaba” or “Alibaba Group”) today announced that Toby Xu, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, will succeed Maggie Wu as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, effective April 1, 2022. Maggie will continue as a partner in the Alibaba Partnership and serve as an executive director on the Alibaba board.

“Maggie has made exceptional contributions that are instrumental to Alibaba’s achievements to date. Since joining Alibaba almost fifteen years ago, Maggie has helped lead three successful company public listings as CFO: Alibaba.com on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007, and Alibaba Group Holding on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014 and on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2019. She has built and nurtured a finance team with professional capabilities and accomplishments second to none, and has served as our bedrock in pursuing Alibaba’s strategies and business development. Maggie is forever calm and unflappable, regardless of ups and downs in the global capital markets and macro environment. She is humble and resilient, and has been my irreplaceable and closest partner over the years,” said Daniel Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group. “Going forward, Maggie will leverage her deep experience to support Alibaba in new ways. We will continue to benefit from her guidance and insights in her continued role as an Alibaba board director.”

 

“We are focused on the long-term, and succession within our management team on every occasion is always in the service of ensuring Alibaba will be stronger and better positioned for the future,” said Zhang. “Toby joined Alibaba from PwC three years ago and was appointed Deputy Group CFO in July 2019. He swiftly demonstrated his solid capabilities and leadership in response to our continually evolving businesses. He took on increasing responsibilities that grew to include our strategic investments, in addition to financial management and operations. We are certain that Toby is the right person to serve as our new Group CFO and, together with the core management team, will help lead our team towards our next success.”

 

“The announcement of Alibaba’s CFO transition today is the culmination of extensive preparation over many years and a part of Alibaba’s leadership succession planning. The markets will always have ups and downs, but Alibaba has ambitious long-term goals. We are in a relay race and we must have new generations of talent to take the company forward. I trust Toby even more than I trusted myself when I first took up the CFO position years ago. I am confident that Toby – through his professional capabilities and leadership skills, and together with Daniel and the core management team – will successfully lead our team into the future,” said Maggie Wu, Chief Financial Officer of Alibaba Group.

 

Toby joined Alibaba in July 2018 and was appointed Deputy Chief Financial Officer in July 2019. Before joining Alibaba Group, Toby was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 11 years, where he joined in 1996. He serves as a director of Sun Art Retail Group, Lianhua Supermarket Holdings and Red Star Macalline Group. Toby graduated from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, with a bachelor’s degree in Physics in 1996. He is a member of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

 

About Alibaba Group

 

Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a good company that lasts for 102 years.

 

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211205005036/en/

FuelBuddy Strengthens Its Leadership Team – Elevates Adnan Kidwai as CEO (International) and Appoints Neeraj Gupta as Ceo (India)

Adnan-Kidwai, CEO - International Business

To increase its reach to 70 cities from 40 cites by March 2022

To double its customer base by the end of financial year from 26,000 at present

SK Narvar promoted, FuelBuddy, the first company to start fuel delivery services in India and a market leader in technology and market share, today announced key leadership appointments for its India and International markets.

The company today announced the appointment of Mr. Neeraj Gupta as CEO, India and promoted Mr. Adnan Kidwai as CEO (International) at FuelBuddy. The appointments are in continuation of FuelBuddy’s drive to attract the best global talent and achieve its objective to expand its presence in newer geographies.

An MBA in Marketing and Finance, Mr Neeraj Gupta brings more than 20 years of experience in the sales, marketing and business development sales planning. He has previously worked with organizations such as Ford, Tata Motors Finance, ICICI Bank, Barclays and Nissan group of India to name a few.

Neeraj Gupta, CEO, India Business

Commenting on the new appointment, Mr SK Narvar, Chairman of Capital India Corp said, “With his deep experience and leadership skills, Neeraj Gupta is well placed to build on the success of our India business and drive further growth. These are exciting times for FuelBuddy, where India remains a priority for FuelBuddy’s growth strategy in India, also with Adnan Kidwai’s elevation, we are confident to maximise all the opportunities that lie ahead."

“It is an honour to lead this exciting company with a great portfolio of clients. I look forward to working closely with Team FuelBuddy and consolidating our leadership position in the market,” said Mr. Neeraj Gupta, CEO (India).

Mr Gupta will be primarily responsible for strategizing, implementing the vision, and driving the mission of FuelBuddy along with Mr Kidwai.

About Fuel Buddy:

The Delhi based company FuelBuddy which was established in 2016 is an app based, IoT and cloud enabled fuel delivery service that enables customers to use advance analytics to control and monitor data. It is a tech enabled platform, which provides doorstep fuel delivery along with various value-added services. The service offers a safe & secure experience, accurate quantity and pure fuel at prevailing market prices ensuring customer convenience. It follows a 5-axis approach – cashless transactions, convenience, quality & quantity, safety & environment with technology as its backbone. The company has won several awards like Admired Emerging Unicorn in Unicorns & Emerging Unicorns, Best Operating Company of the Year in National Award – MSME Edition,

ZebPay Appoints Tarun Jain as Chief Financial Officer

Tarun will be responsible for shaping the strategic and long-term financial direction of the company

ZebPay, India’s most trusted and oldest crypto asset exchange, has announced the appointment of Tarun Jain as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Tarun will shape the strategic and long-term financial direction of ZebPay’s business. He will work closely with the organization’s leadership team to scale the organization and its systems for the next phase of growth.

With more than 17 years of experience as a chartered accountant with various startups and MNCs, Tarun possesses strong expertise in financial management, investor relations, fundraising, strategic planning, commercial negotiation, and risk management. Before joining ZebPay, Tarun was working as the CFO for Lithium Urban Technologies, after having succeeded in several leadership positions in organizations such as Zoomcar, Herman Miller, and Warner Bros.

With this latest appointment, ZebPay bolsters its leadership team to further strengthen its capabilities and value offerings. Some of the key focus areas for Tarun include planning, implementing, and managing all financial activities of the company. In addition to business planning, he will also be responsible for budgeting, forecasting, and leading strategic business negotiations.

On this appointment, Mr. Avinash Shekhar, Co-CEO, ZebPay, said, “We welcome Tarun to the ZebPay Ohana (family). We have been working very hard to democratise crypto assets and with Tarun on-board, we are spearheading the growth journey. Tarun’s varied experience in different sectors brings the resilience and acumen needed to help ZebPay reach the last mile of India and make crypto assets a common name in the households. We are looking forward to this change.”

Tarun Jain, CFO, ZebPay, said, “I am excited to begin this journey with ZebPay, a leading player in the emerging Indian crypto industry. I’m looking forward to supporting the development of ZebPay’s business and its suite of industry-first products for crypto investors in India. ZebPay is on a path to becoming the foremost crypto player in India and I’m glad to be leading the financial and strategic direction.”

ZebPay offers a one-stop shop for all crypto solutions for an investor with their products Lend, Earn, and ZEBB (SIP for crypto) along with the OTC desk for HNI investors.

About ZebPay

ZebPay is India’s most secure crypto asset exchange. Founded in 2014, ZebPay's mission is to make Bitcoin accessible to Indians using its highly secure and compliant exchange, available via web and on Google Play Store and Apple App Store. ZebPay also operates an exchange in Australia and Singapore, serving 162 countries globally. ZebPay members can invest in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and many other crypto assets, trading both crypto-fiat and crypto-crypto pairs. ZebPay OTC, a bespoke trading desk for high-volume clients, serves both individuals and institutions.