Fintech firm BharatPe has declared that the former State Bank of India (SBI) head Rajnish Kumar has been appointed the chairman of the board of the freshly moulded unicorn. The former SBI chairman will describe the company’s short-term and long-term strategy and will work jointly with the other board members and CXOs on key business and regulatory initiatives, as stated on October 12.
“It is a matter of great validation and pride for us that one of the biggest stalwarts of the Indian Banking Industry has agreed to join BharatPe as the Chairman of the Board,” Ashneer Grover, Co-Founder and Managing Director, BharatPe said.
“We look forward to invaluable guidance from Rajnish Kumar as we build India’s largest digital credit provider.”
Kumar would also guide and counsel the management on matters around business performance as well as corporate governance; BharatPe responded in a statement. An industry expert, Kumar was the SBI chairman from October 2017 to October 2020. He has also worked as the managing director, and the managing director (Compliance and Risk) of SBI.
“In just three years, BharatPe has come a long way in becoming a trusted name in the financial services industry,” Kumar said. “This company has a huge opportunity ahead, and it would be great to work closely with its young and talented team to build financial services for the India of tomorrow.”
Kumar was in August selected as an independent non-executive director of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation’s (HSBC) Asian entity. Earlier in February, Kotak Investment Advisors Limited stated that Kumar would be an exclusive adviser for its $ 1-billion Special Situation Fund.
In August, Bharat Pe that gives merchant payments solutions and other financial services, turned into a unicorn, a company valued at a billion-dollar or more, when it raised $370 million in its Series E round headed by Tiger Global. The round valued BharatPe at $2.85 billion.
BharatPe, co-founder Ashneer Grover, offers many financial services to help offline business firms in according payments digitally from their clients. Even as India has already emerged as the second-largest internet market, with more than 650 million users, much of the country remains offline.
BharatPe provides QR Code services to the merchants running small businesses such as roadside tea stalls and neighborhood stores. Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay, and WhatsApp Pay are the major competitors of BharatPe.
