Paytm To Hit $14 Bn GMV During The Current Fiscal: Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Paytm is aiming to achieve $14 Bn GMV during the ongoing fiscal year. The digital payment company founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, also revealed that Paytm made 255 Mn transactions last month, while speaking at an event.

In November 2017, Paytm claimed that it was witnessing 7 Mn transactions worth $18.78 Mn (INR 120 Cr) a day, this also helped it crossing $5 Bn GMV sales, four months ahead of its target. Recently, Paytm also announced to integrate BHIM UPI into its app for iOS platform.

At the India Digital Summit, Vijay Shekhar Sharma was optimistic about the current state of Indian startup ecosystem and made a strong pitch for ‘Make In India’ movement. He also, in particular, noted the accomplishments of Flipkart founder Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal who he believes have changed the country’s startup ecosystem.

He further lauded the government’s initiative on the economic front, and said, “In the seven years between 2018 and 2025, India would add $2.5 Tn to the economy and the digital industry would contribute a substantial amount to this growth.”

More From Indian Digital Summit

Apart from Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Info Edge Founder, and CEO Sanjeev Bikhchandani, and Make My Trip founder Deep Kalra also shared their futuristic insights on the Indian startups, investors and other stakeholders in the India Digital Summit

Sanjeev Bikhchandani mostly spoke about his venture and raising capital. He said his firm’s prime focus is to be independent and a capable company. Investors, he said, have their own aspirations but what matters for him is the conviction of the venture in which he is investing his time.

Deep Kalra, on the other hand, was quite vocal on the upcoming boom in the travel and tourism industry. As he said,” India is sitting on the cusp of a travel revolution, attributing it to social media. The outbound travel alone from India would peak to 40 Mn by 2020.”

The mobile revolution has also been a game changer for the travel industry and MakeMyTrip alone has seen 70% on mobile and of that 70%, 90% is from the app. Kalra also stated that medical tourism is also contributing to the overall growth and bookings in guest houses along the hospitals in NCR region had been overwhelming.

He further advised startups on raising and utilising the foreign capital as well as stave off foreign companies domination. He believes that the emerging entrepreneurs need to be prudent with the capital invested in their venture and there is an imperative need for the Indian companies to do well to meet the onslaught of the foreign multinationals.

“It is imperative for the Indian companies to do well. Let the foreign capital come and let them do well. But I want Indian companies to equally do well. The prudence lies in capitalising well as I have seen companies with good ideas fizzling out due to the lack of it. Foreign capitals come easy but dry up equally fast,” added Deep Kalra.

Organised by IAMAI, the 12th edition of India Digital Summit focussed on trending and most debatable issues rising in the Indian ecosystem such as government policies, cryptocurrency, entertainment tech, adtech, digital transformation and more.

During the two day event, Indian government leaders like Amitabh Kant, Suresh Prabhu and more also put forward their views and expectations regarding the growth of the Indian startup ecosystem.

Paytm: Aggressively Growing On The Indian Digital Payment Chart

As per the App Annie 2017 Retrospective Report, Paytm clocked more monthly active users (MAUs) than Instagram last year and has been ranked 9th among the global top 10 apps with highest MAU’s.

The digital payment unicorn is also continuously diversifying its offerings in the Indian market. Recently, the company set up its wealth management division Paytm Money and is all geared up to launch an incubator for Indian startups too.

The Paytm app already offers a slew of services from DTH and mobile payments to booking Delhi Metro Rail tickets and fulfilling daily needs. It has also recently partnered with Beijing-based bike rental service Ofo.

From $5 Bn GMV in November 2017, Paytm target to reach $14 Bn GMV by the end of this fiscal seems huge. But looking at the aggressiveness with which Vijay Shekhar Sharma is leading this digital payment unicorn, nothing seems impossible at this moment.

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