MobiKwik to invest Rs 300 cr to expand user base

Mobile wallet MobiKwik says it plans to invest Rs 300 crore in office expansion, technology and marketing.

The company is in talks with multiple investors for its next round of funding. The present expansion would help it put its best foot forward.

The money would be spent on expansion aimed at growing its user base from the current 50 million to 150 mn; they hope to achieve this within a year. The increase in user base would push its annual gross merchandise value (GMV) to $10 billion by the end of the year, from the current $2 bn (Rs 13,300 crore), says the company.

"There are three areas where we would be investing. We have grown organically and now would invest more to market ourselves and acquire more customers. It is the right time to invest," said Daman Soni, vice-president for growth.

The plan is to hire around 1,000 employees, from senior management to junior staff. It is also opening as many as 13 offices across the country, the second largest one in Pune, where around 250 employees would be housed. "We chose Pune as it was a cost-effective base of operations in the west as compared to Mumbai," the company said.

MobiKwik has also tied up with third-party entities through which it would hire around 10,000 employees for offline expansion.

It is also launching 'Supercash', a loyalty initiative that aims to promote digital payments among users and promises benefits on every transaction. Users can earn reward points at all MobiKwik merchants, including local stores; additionally, says the company, the user saves money every time he transacts.

"The investment of Rs 300 crore will be deployed in loyalty initiatives, expanding our reach and network, and launching other financial services such as loans & investments on our platform," said Upasana Taku, co-founder.

The company has raised about $85 million (Rs 570 crore) in funding so far. Its investors include Sequoia Capital, MediaTek, GMO Venture Partners, Tree Line Asia and South Africa's Net1. The company has about 1.4 million merchants on its network and aims to grow this to beyond five mn by year-end.

Mobile wallets have seen a surge is use over the past three months, since currency demonetisation. The company says it added 1.3 mn merchants and 15 mn users in this period.