MobiKwik appoints Punita Kumar Sinha, 3 others as independent directors

MobiKwik on Friday said it has appointed former Blackstone MD Punita Kumar Sinha, diplomat Navdeep Singh Suri, and two others as independent directors as the fintech platform moves closer to its listing on Indian bourses.

Fintech entrepreneur and co-founder of PaySense Sayali Karanjkar and chief technology officer of LinkedIn Raghu Ram Hiremagalur are also joining as independent directors.

The company had filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus with SEBI on July 12, 2021.

"...the appointment of an experienced and robust board takes the company one step closer to being the first fintech company to list in India," a statement said.

MobiKwik had over 108 million users and 3.4 million merchants on the platform as of June 2021.

As a company, we stand on the precipice of a monumental milestone - an Initial Public Offering in India. It is of utmost importance that the board believes in our journey, our people, and our vision over the next decade and more. In my extensive conversations with Punita, Navdeep, Sayali, and Raghu, I have found harmony in their beliefs and MobiKwik's vision," MobiKwik managing director, chief executive officer, and co-founder Bipin Preet Singh said.

He added that this is foundational as the company heads into its next phase as a publicly listed company.

"The holistic expertise of our new board members in our sector, public policy, technology, and business will provide an added thrust to MobiKwik's strategic direction, he said.

Punita Kumar Sinha has over three decades of experience in investment management in emerging and international markets. She is the founder and managing partner at Pacific Paradigm Advisors and previously was senior managing director at Blackstone and the chief investment officer of Blackstone Asia Advisors. She has also worked at Oppenheimer, Legg Mason, and IFC.

Navdeep Singh Suri has had a 36-year long career in the Indian Foreign Service and has served in India's diplomatic missions in Cairo, Damascus, Washington, Dar es Salaam and London. He was India's Consul General in Johannesburg, High Commissioner to Australia, and Ambassador to Egypt and the UAE.

Sayali Karanjkar, co-founder and chief business officer of fintech startup PaySense (acquired by PayU in 2020), had also co-founded the local discovery platform Outsy. She spearheaded business development at Final Mile Consulting and had also worked in AT Kearney and AT&T.

Raghu Ram Hiremagalur is currently the chief technology officer and vice president - engineering at LinkedIn. He has worked with companies like Zynga and Paypal.