Ahead of IPO, Mobikwik scouts for investor; eyes profit next Fiscal

Digital payments provider Mobikwik is aiming to be profitable next fiscal and is looking to on-board an investor who will help it go public in the next three years, a top official has said. The 2009-incorporated company is planning to report its first quarterly profit in March and will be profitable from a full year perspective from FY21.

"We are looking for an investor who will help the company go for an initial public offering (IPO) in three years," co-founder and chief executive Bipin Preet Singh told PTI here. Singh said he is in talks with multiple players but refused to share more details including to specify whether it will be a strategic or a financial investor.

Mobikwik already counts Sequoia Capital, Bajaj Finance and South African firm Net 1 UEPS Technologies among its major shareholders.

The company, whose competitors include deep pocketed and aggressive players like the Alibaba-backed Paytm, had doubled revenue in FY19 to Rs 184.6 crore.

Singh said there is not much of cash burn from the payment transactions, where it has to give out rewards for usage, and attributed higher investments delaying profitability. It is focusing on leveraging its user base of over 100 million to hawk more tailor-made products like micro- insurance, loans and investments which are margin accretive. It sold 4 lakh loans worth Rs 500 crore in FY19, and aims to more than double it to 1.5 million in FY20, Singh said.

Currently, Mobikwik sells policies of seven insurance companies and is targeting to sell 2 million policies across life, general and health space in FY20, he said, and stressed that it is not selling policies under any of the flagship government schemes. The company is targeting urban customers with deep pockets and who are digital savvy, he said.

In wealth management, it is starting with selling liquid funds that can be withdrawn in between as well, with the idea of giving investors more than a fixed deposit sans any hassles, he said, adding all the investments happen through the app. "We are not interested to be a payments bank or a shadow bank. We want to be a financial distributor with a deeper say in our partnerships, Singh said.