MobiKwik names former CRISIL exec Bikram Bir Singh as business head

Digital wallet firm MobiKwik has appointed former CRISIL executive Bikram Bir Singh as business head, it said in a statement.

Singh will be heading government, corporate, travel and biller verticals at MobiKwik. He will focus on accelerating MobiKwik's growth in various geographies. He will also drive ideation, planning and execution of business strategies, it said.

Bikram comes with 15 years of experience in business development and sales management across CRISIL, Citibank and ICICI Bank. During his stint at CRSIL as director – business development, he was instrumental in re-defining the target market and spotting growth opportunities. At Citibank, Bikram was involved in execution, ideation and planning of business strategies in retail banking and mortgage business.

"As we prepare to serve over 150 million users by the end of 2017, we are focused on building a robust business growth team that works towards making MobiKwik payments ubiquitous in India," said Bipin Preet Singh, co-founder, MobiKwik.

"Bikram's expertise in leading business for large financial enterprises makes him an exceptional addition to our business growth team. Under his supervision, we shall work at faster speed in fulfilling our mission," he said.

"I am thrilled to join MobiKwik at a true industry inflection point. As a team, we will work to disrupt a fast-growing industry by building and launching innovative products that extend MobiKwik's platform," said Bikram Bir Singh.

Last month, MobiKwik hired Vineet Singh, former executive vice president of 99acres, as chief business officer.

MobiKwik was founded in 2009 by the husband-wife duo of Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku. The company claims to have a network of more than 10 lakh direct merchants and 45 million users on its platform. Recently, the Gurgaon-based company said it will invest Rs 50 crore to expand its offline footprint across the country. It is looking to open offices in 13 cities and hire nearly 1,000 sales and marketing professionals.

It has so far raised $120 million in funding from Sequoia, American Express, Tree Line Asia and MediaTek, among others.