Mobike to Start India Operations from Pune Soon, Appoints Former EY Executives
China’s app-based bicycle sharing platform, Mobike which was acquired by Meituan Dianping for an estimated $2.7 billion last month, is entering into Indian Market. The company is expected to start its services by next few weeks from Pune. It has also announced the appointment of erstwhile EY executives - Vibhor Jain as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Sujith Nair as Chief Business Officer (CBO) to ride into the country.
These experienced leaders will play a pivotal role in driving Mobike’s entry and expansion in India across more cities in the next 18 months, the company said in a press statement.
Vibhor Jain joins Mobike with more than 16 years of experience in business consulting and entrepreneurship. Vibhor began his career with global consulting firm Andersen and then joined Ernst & Young. In 14 years of his consulting stint he worked closely with governments, advising them on public policy and large-scale technology-driven transformations in Public Finance, Sports, National Identity, Financial Inclusion, Payment systems and Health domains; across geographies including India, the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia. In India, he has led some of the most impactful reform programs working with the Government of India including the Unique ID (Aadhaar) program, National Population Register Program, and Tax reforms. Vibhor joins Mobike from Atlanta Healthcare, India’s leading air quality management company where he was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer, and continues to be on its Board.
“We are excited to be in India and are committed to bringing in, together with the city administration, a global culture of bike sharing to cities in India. With rapid urban growth and changing landscape of Indian cities, there is a clear need to strengthen the public transport system through a focus on sustainable modal share commute options. Bike sharing initiative, an environment-friendly commute option, offers the right mobility fit towards the first mile/last mile and short distance commute. We have been engaging with the government authorities in several cities and states in India for sometime now and have received a tremendous response for launching smart bike sharing services,” said Vibhor Jain, CEO, Mobike India.
Sujith Nair brings over 15 years of experience in management consulting and technology sectors. Sujith joins Mobike India leadership team from EY, where he successfully led the Smart Mobility practice. Sujith has been instrumental in driving growth through business model innovation and brings expertise in mobility systems, alternate revenue strategy, and digital payments.
“I am thrilled to a part of Mobike’s journey in India. Globally we have exhibited that bicycle sharing can make urban transportation convenient, affordable, and better for the environment. We hope to replicate the same in India and are committed to making a positive impact on urban development and planning, the environment and access for our users. With Mobike’s innovation in smart bicycles, internet mobility platforms, and AI, we look forward to offering a great experience to our riders in India,” said Sujith Nair, CBO, Mobike India.
Mobike has over 9 million of its iconic orange bicycles currently operating in over 200 cities across 16 countries. Mobike as a sustainable, healthy and affordable mode of transport has transformed the mobility landscape, addressing first mile, last mile, and short distance commuting requirements around the world, currently providing over 30 million rides every day. It was founded in January 2015. In June 2017, the company had raised a funding of $600 million led by Tencent Holdings.
After the launch of China’s bicycle sharing startup Ofo, in December, Mobike will be the second Chinese firm entering into bicycle sharing space in India. Alibaba-backed Ofo had launched its services in cities including Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad & Indore and claimed to have completed 1.1 million rides within four months of operations in India. The company raised a new $866 million round of funding led by Alibaba Group, with participation from Haofeng Group, Tianhe Capital, Ant Financial and Junli Capital in March 2018.
Besides Ofo, Mobike will compete against the likes of other bicycle sharing services including Ola’s Pedal, Zoomcar’s PEDL and Yulu among others.
