Indian startup head appointed as new WhatsApp boss

MUMBAI: Meta has tapped Indian fintech founder Kunal Shah as the new head of WhatsApp, as the US tech giant seeks ways to monetise the messaging app’s massive user base.

The announcement, made Monday night, was accompanied by news that Meta would also lead a $900 million funding round in Shah’s consumer finance firm CRED.

“Kunal built CRED into one of India’s most important technology companies,” Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement.

“He brings the kind of builder mentality and global perspective that will serve him well in running the world’s biggest messaging app.”

Shah, a serial entrepreneur and influential figure in India’s fintech world, started CRED in 2018 after selling an earlier payments startup to Indian e-commerce giant Snapdeal for roughly $400 million.

He is also one of India’s most prolific angel investors, according to data tracker Tracxn, with the local financial press often reporting how Shah agrees to seed funding pitches within minutes of hearing them.

But over the last few years, Shah has focused on building CRED — which got its start by offering rewards to customers for timely credit card payments.

Since then, the company has aggressively expanded into offering wealth management, insurance and lending services to its 17 million users.

This experience is likely to help WhatsApp as it seeks new revenue streams that go beyond the core advertising business of Meta, which also runs Facebook and Instagram.

While India is WhatsApp’s largest market — with over half a billion users, according to 2021 government figures — analysts say it has largely missed the chance to build an equally popular payments service.

In May, the messaging app offered businesses in India the ability to use artificial intelligence for services including responding to customers at all hours or booking appointments.

Shah acknowledged the scope for future growth, saying in a statement that the gap between “WhatsApp today and its full potential is massive”.