MobiKwik appoints Mrinal Sinha as its head of strategy

Gurgaon-based One MobiKwik Systems Pvt Ltd, which runs online recharge platform and mobile wallet venture MobiKwik.com, has appointed Mrinal Sinha as its head of strategy. In his new role, Sinha will lead the strategic roadmap (with the management) of the company, identifying key opportunities for talent and technology acquisition. He will also focus on fostering alliances and kick starting new revenue lines within the company.

Commenting on the appointment, Bipin Preet Singh, co-founder and CEO, MobiKwik, said, "We are now looking at strategic expansion and diversification. Sinha will play a pivotal role in our further evolution thanks to his years of business development and corporate strategy experience across domains."

Sinha has over 11 years of work experience, and prior to MobiKwik, he had co-founded Brattle Foods, a food supply chain solutions and logistics business. Before that, he was the manager, corporate strategy at EMC Corporation. He had earlier also worked at companies like ICICI Venture, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and McKinsey & Company. He holds a dual degree (Master's and Bachelor's in Technology) from IIT-Madras, as well as a MBA from Harvard Business School.

"My objective will be to chart out the expansion strategy for MobiKwik, form key partnerships with banks, device makers and other payments companies. I am also looking forward to identifying new business lines for the company," said Sinha.

Last month, MobiKwik had appointed MakeMyTrip's former VP of technology Virender Bisht as its chief technology officer (CTO). Going forward, the company is also planning to hire a chief marketing officer (CMO) and head of products. The current team size is 100.

Founded in 2009 by Singh, and Upasana Taku (head- business development and merchant operations), MobiKwik enables prepaid mobile, DTH and data card recharges, post-paid mobile bills payment and utility bill payment for electricity, gas and landline connections. It also offers these services via SMS, phone and apps that are available for Android, iOS and ​​​Windows platforms. The firm recently revamped its website and logo.

The company claimed that it has partnered with more than 5,000 businesses across e-commerce, online food ordering, cab services and QSR chains in the country to offer digital wallets so that consumers can directly pay from their wallets while shopping online. Consumers can also make P2P money transfer using the wallet. Its clientele includes companies like eBay, Snapdeal, ShopClues, MakeMyTrip, redBus, BookMyShow, Domino's Pizza, HomeShop18, Naaptol, Pepperfry, Yepme and Infibeam, among others.

The company claims to have 12 million registered users and sees more than 2 lakh transactions per day, of which 5,000-10,000 are happening across e-com platforms. Mobile contributes more than 85 per cent of the total business. In November this year, Techcircle.in had exclusively reported that the company is in advanced talks with more than three large VC funds in India, Southeast Asia and the US to raise $20-30 million in a Series B round of funding.