VIJAY SHEKHAR SHARMA
Introduction –
Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the Founder and chief executive officer of One97 Communications and its consumer brand Paytm. A strong believer in emerging technologies, he has built it into India’s largest mobile-first financial services conglomerate within a short span of time. In 2019, he launched Paytm Payments Bank – now the country’s largest digital bank – aiming to bring banking and financial services to 500 million unserved and underserved Indian customers.
NAME – VIJAY SHEKHAR SHARMA
DOB – 7 June 1978 (Born in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh)
EDUCATION – Delhi College of Engineering (B. Tech)
PROFESSION – Entrepreneur
Marital Status – Married
CARRIER –
In 1997, while in college, he started the website indiasite.net, and sold it two years later for US$1 million. Three years later, in 2000, he started One97 Communications which offered mobile content including news, cricket scores, ringtones, jokes and exam results One97 Communications Limited is the parent company of Paytm, a digital payments and financial services company that was launched by Sharma in 2010.
In November 2021, Paytm went public raising $2.5 billion at a valuation of $19 billion, making it India’s largest initial public offering at that time.
Sharma is also an angel investor who has supported tech start-ups. Sharma joined the board of management at Netaji Subhas University of Technology in Delhi for three years.
In 2024, Sharma stepped down from his role as part-time non-executive chairman and board member of Paytm Payments Bank. This decision followed regulatory challenges encountered by the bank with the Reserve Bank of India.
Son of a schoolteacher from a small city in north India, Vijay Shekhar Sharma founded fast-rising mobile wallet Paytm in 2011. One of the biggest beneficiaries of India’s 2016 demonetization, Paytm has notched up 400 million users and 25 million transactions daily.
Sharma made a splash in August 2018 by getting Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway to invest $300 million in Paytm.
Sharma has also created Paytm Mall, an e-commerce business and the Paytm Payments Bank.
His success was made possible due to his hard work, patience, and determination to succeed. Things became complicated when he launched One97, Paytm’s parent company, but later on, matters began to settle. When it came to Paytm, he didn’t seek external funding; instead, he single-handedly raised $2 million.
A company’s success is derived from providing internet wallets and round-the-clock customer care services. These elements foster trust among customers. The concept behind it relied on gaining the trust of its customers, and Vijay achieved this through exceptional customer support.
About Paytm –
Paytm is a leading Indian digital payments and financial services company. Initially launched in 2010 as a mobile wallet, this has expanded its services over the years to include a wide range of financial products such as digital payments, banking, lending, insurance, and wealth management.
The platform allows users to make payments for various services like mobile recharges, bill payments, ticket bookings, and online shopping. It also facilitates peer-to-peer money transfers and provides a digital wallet for users to store money securely.
It has played a significant role in India’s digital payment revolution, particularly after the government’s demonetization initiative in 2016, which aimed to reduce the use of cash in the economy. It has become one of the most popular and widely used digital payment platforms in the country, with millions of users and merchants onboarded onto its platform.
International Expansion –
JAPAN –
Paytm established a joint venture with SoftBank and Yahoo! , Japan, called Pay PAY Corporation, to offer services in the Japanese market. its launched the Pay Pay app, a QR-based payment settlement service, in Japan on 22 October 2018.
CANADA –
Paytm Labs Inc. was established in Toronto, Ontario in 2014 as a research and development division. It recently launched a fraud risk management platform called Pi for fintechs and digital marketplaces where transaction value is high.
PERSONAL LIFE-
He is married to Mridula Parashar Sharma and they have a child. He cites Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma and Masayoshi Son of Softbank, as his inspirations. In February 2022, Sharma was arrested by Delhi police for hitting his car into the car of a police officer. He was later released on bail.
Awards and Recognition–
- Won the Best Serial Entrepreneur Award at the Rural and Urban Development Summit and Awards 2022 presented by the Minister of State for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.
- Ranked the Youngest Indian Billionaire by Forbes magazine
- In 2018, he was named the Entrepreneur of the Year by AIMA
- Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2017.
- ET Entrepreneur of the Year, by The Economic Timesin 2016
- Ranked by GO in their listing of the 50 most influential young Indians of 2017.
- In 2017, he became the Dataquest IT Man of the year.
- Received an Honorary doctoratefrom Amity University, Gurgaon, in 2016.
- Honoured with the Yash Bharati, the highest state civilian award of the Government of Uttar Pradeshin 2016.
- Named as the Businessman of the Year at GQ Men of the Year Awards.
DOWN FALL YEAR OF HIS CARRIER LIFE -2024
On 31 January 2024, Reserve Bank of India, the banking regulator in India, ordered Paytm Payments Bank Ltd to stop the bulk of its activities from 29 February 2024. RBI found that the company did not conduct proper background checks on the source of funds before onboarding clients. This date was further extended to 15 March 2024 as per the updated FAQ. It may lead to 20% work force cut down. Therefore, the year 2024 was down according to Rbi and stock market.
