Ninjacart’s Rathnam Joins IAMAI To Chair Agri Panel; WhatsLoan’s Gouda As Co-Chair

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) that represents internet and technology companies, has roped in senior executives of Ninjacart and WhatsLoan for its newly-formed Agritech Panel.

While, Pradeep Rathnam, the fintech head of agritech marketplace Ninjacart, has joined IAMAI as chairman of its Agritech panel, lending platform WhatsLoan’s founder and chief executive officer Timmana Gouda has been elected as the co-chair.

“As I step into the role of chair of IAMAI’s Agritech Committee, I am excited about the immense potential this platform holds to drive collective efforts in addressing the complexities of our agricultural landscape. I am committed to infusing a collaborative approach focusing into our tech initiatives, ultimately creating inclusive access and advocating for robust public policies…,” said Rathnam.

“My tenure as Chair aims to spotlight the industry’s contributions, addressing its challenges head-on, as the growth of resilient companies is integral to both the ecosystem and the nation’s progress,” he added.

Prior to joining Ninjacart, Rathnam worked with TERA Finlabs, OYE Fintech, Bajaj Finserv, Rupeezone and Citibank, among others. 

“Happy to be part this huge initiative to bring agritechs, fintechs under ‘Agrifintech Charter’ for serving Indian farmers working with agritechs, fintechs, banks, lenders, agri and other ecosystem players under FCC and IAMAI…,” Gouda said in a LinkedIn post.

With over two decades of experience across investment banking, corporate finance and consumer retail finance, Gouda has a background in the consumer loans sector, overseeing sales, credit, product, policy, strategy, resource mobilisation, distribution and collections. 

Prior to founding WhatsLoan, Gouda had worked with Karnataka Digital Economy Mission and Startupbootcamp.

IAMAI, founded in 2004, is a not-for-profit industry body. It mainly represents the digital services industry and has over 400 Indian and multinational corporations as its members.

Recently, IAMAI proposed resolutions specifying that the association’s chairman should have been a prominent executive — be it a founder, cofounder, chairman, CEO, managing director, or executive director of an Indian-based company.

This follows earlier controversies suggesting that the association was biased towards major tech corporations like Google, Meta, Amazon, and Netflix. Later, Dream11 founder and CEO Harsh Jain was elected as the new chairperson. 

In November, IAMAI changed leadership in its Public Policy Committee, appointing Vineeta Dixit, the regional director for the Asia-Pacific region at Spotify, as the new chairperson. Sandeep Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Droom Technology, and Senthil Kumar, Public Policy and Government Relations at Ninjacart, served as co-chairs of the committee.