Social media platform ShareChat adds $14 mn to ESOP pool

Bengaluru-based Mohalla Tech, which runs vernacular social media platform ShareChat, said it has added $14 million to its employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) pool, taking the total to $35 million. 

It has extended the ESOP offering to all employees, including the administrative staff, who were on its payroll on June 30, a statement said. It currently employs 400 people.

It has also offered 50% additional ESOPs as a bonus to employees who already own shares in the company, the statement said.

“Our growth since inception has not been without challenges, but we have always managed to come out of these challenges unscathed just on the strength  of our people.  The additional ESOP is a measure of small appreciation for this commitment, and recognition of our team’s efforts,” Ankush Sachdeva, CEO and co-founder of ShareChat, said.

ShareChat’s employees holding ESOPs, upon leaving the company, carry the vesting percentage with them and continue to enjoy the benefits of owning the ESOPs without any predetermined timelines, the statement said.

“The decision was taken to recognise their hard work behind the incredible growth achieved by both ShareChat and its recently launched short video platform Moj,” the company said in the statement.

The ShareChat platform has more than 160 million monthly active users (MAUs), with a user spending an average of 31 minutes daily on the app, the statement said. The Moj platform, on the other hand, has witnessed over 80 million MAUs to date, with a daily user average of 34 minutes.

The company, which has been on an acquisition spree lately, said it looks to strengthen Moj to fill the void created by the TikTok ban and to take on homegrown competition such as Chingari and Trell.

Last week, it bought video production firm HPF Films, which specialises in digital content, for an undisclosed amount. In August, it acquired Bengaluru-based Circle Internet, a hyperlocal news and information platform, for an undisclosed amount.