As the US internet giant looks for ways to monetize the messaging app’s enormous user base, Meta has appointed Indian finance founder Kunal Shah as the new head of WhatsApp.
Alongside the announcement on Monday night, it was revealed that Meta would also spearhead a $900 million investment round for Shah’s consumer lending company, CRED.
According to a statement from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, “Kunal built CRED into one of India’s most important technology companies”.
“He brings the kind of global perspective and builder mentality that will help him run the largest messaging app in the world”.
Shah, a prominent personality in India’s financial industry and serial entrepreneur, founded CRED in 2018 after selling a previous payments business to Snapdeal, an Indian e-commerce behemoth, for over $400 million.
According to data tracker Tracxn, he is also one of India’s most active angel investors. The local financial press frequently reports that Shah consents to seed investment pitches minutes after hearing them.
However, Shah has spent the previous few years concentrating on developing CRED, which began by rewarding consumers for making credit card payments on time.
Since then, the business has rapidly grown to provide its 17 million members with financing, insurance, and wealth management services.
WhatsApp will probably benefit from this experience as it looks for new sources of income outside of Meta’s primary advertising business, which also manages Facebook and Instagram.
With over 500 million users, according to official statistics from 2021, India is WhatsApp’s biggest market, but analysts claims the company has mostly lost the opportunity to develop a similarly well-linked payment business.
The messagin app gave Indian companies the option to deploy AI for services like scheduling appointments and responding to consumers around-the-clock in May.
In a statement, Shah acknowledged the possibility for future expansion, starting that “WhatsApp today and its full potential is massive”.
Shah’s appointment, the most recent instance of an Indian-born executive taking the helm of a Silicon Valley company, was likewise applauded by India’s startup community.
Early-stage Indian start-up investor Sajith Pai of Blume Ventures stated that Shah was receiveing a “even bigger canvas to paint his bold brushstrokes in”.
“Excellent news for India and the entire Indian startup ecosystem!”
SOURCE: DAWN NEWS
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