Paytm expanding to Singapore; ropes in Milaap co-founder Sourabh Sharma to head operations in the region

Paytm, the m-commerce marketplace from the house of Noida-based One97 Communications Pvt Ltd that also offers an online platform for mobile & DTH recharges, has announced plans to expand its operations to Singapore and other Southeast Asian markets.

The firm will initially look to offer its mobile-based utility bill payment solutions in Singapore, and later expand the services to Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

As part of the plans, Paytm has roped in Sourabh Sharma, co-founder of Milaap Social Ventures, to drive operations in Singapore. He will tap the smartphone-savvy population in the region to employ Paytm's varied utility payment solutions.

An alumnus of National University of Singapore, Sharma is co-founder and former director of Milaap, an online fundraising platform for impact ventures. In the past, he had worked at companies including OnMobile Global, MicroAppli, and Tagit.

"We are excited on the opportunity of providing consumers with great payment solutions on mobile. Most people still resort to traditional ways of bill payments such as bank transfers, kiosks and physical outlets of the service provider. With a powerful product and a well-thought out strategy, I am certain that we can establish a firm foothold for Paytm in Singapore and other Southeast Asian geographies in the near future," said Sharma.

"Paytm is committed to growing its presence in global markets through a route of partnerships and grounds-up built company across regions. We are happy to have a seasoned entrepreneur in Sourabh leading this charge out of his Singapore base for South East Asia," said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, CEO of Paytm.

Founded in 2000, One97 is a leading mobile-internet company in India that offers digital goods & services to its mobile consumers under the Paytm brand. It also provides mobile advertising, marketing and payments for merchants. Paytm claims that its m-com platform has more than 18 million users, and gets 20 million orders a month.

Paytm is currently in talks with multiple investors to raise $200 million in fresh funding, and has appointed Goldman Sachs as its banker.