Signage for digital payment service MobiKwik, operated by One MobiKwik Systems Pvt., is displayed at a Bharat Petroleum Corp.
Credit: Bloomberg Photo
Delhi-based fintech startup MobiKwik reported a 68% quarter-on-quarter growth in revenue to Rs 177 crores in Q1 FY24, while its contribution margin rose by 108% to Rs 73.9 crores and it posted its first profit after tax of Rs 3 crore.
Turning the corner, the company is now looking to acquire 20-25 million users in the current financial year.
“We are seeing significant growth coming from a user base perspective from the tier 3, 4, 5 and 6 towns, cities, and villages of India. We are also seeing about 70% new users coming from small town India, and typically, they have lesser access to new and simple curated financial products,” MobiKwik co-founder Upasana Taku told DH. The addition she is talking of, would translate into a 28-35% growth over the platform’s present count of 140 million users.
In the process, the company’s ambition is to effect a 100% year-on-year growth in revenue, taking it to Rs 1,100 crore (from Rs 560 crore in FY23) by the end of the current financial year.
Taku credits the company’s performance to its diversification beyond its core payments’ product (which is low yielding) to other financial offerings. “We have deepened our engagement with our users by offering them several financial products in the last few years. These are credit products, saving products. This is where we are seeing stronger monetisation, because these are typically higher revenue margin products as compared to payment products,” she explained.
In the quarter ended June 2023, MobiKwik disbursed loans worth over Rs 2,000 crore and is banking on its credit products to continue on its profitability path. The company typically sees has been able to keep its bad loan count to 1-1.5%. Keen observation of user behaviour prior to giving out big ticket loans, has helped minimise risk, Taku said.
Going forward, the company is also looking to introduce credit offerings for small merchants, which are expected to be launched in the coming few months. If all goes well, MobiKwik is also looking to go public in 1-2 years, based on how the market performs and the company’ ability to continue being profitable, she informed.
“The market is moving in a positive direction, let the momentum build up and we are keenly watching the markets. We are also busy building our business and bringing more and more profitability into our financials and we definitely are keen to get to the capital markets and do an IPO at the right time,” Taku said.