WhatsApp has appointed Abhijit Bose, co-founder and CEO of payment device maker Ezetap, as the head of WhatsApp India. The company has said Bose will join WhataApp in early 2019. He will play an instrumental role in building WhatsApp's first full country team outside of California, which will be based in Gurgaon, said the Facebook-owned messaging company.
Bose's appointment comes around two months after the company appointed Komal Lahiri as its first Grievance Officer for India. The government has been building pressure on the company over its compliance with the Centre's directives to curb spreading of fake news and misinformation in India.
Bose and his team will focus on helping businesses, both large and small connect with their customers, said the company. In a statement, WhatsApp added that it is "deeply committed to India and is excited to keep building products that help people connect and support India's fast-growing digital economy".
The company unit under Bose will also work on building WhatsApp as a more suitable product for small business owners. "Earlier this year, WhatsApp released the WhatsApp Business app for small business owners and the WhatsApp Business API to serve larger businesses that engage with customers at scale. Today, there are over one million users of these WhatsApp business products in India," the company added.
"Abhijit Bose knows what it takes to build meaningful partnerships that can serve businesses across India," said Matt Idema, Chief Operating Officer of WhatsApp.
Bose has over 17 years of work experience in product management, product marketing, and business development with expertise in software and mobile markets, said his Linkedin profile.
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He co-founded Ezetap in 2011. Ezetap is an electronic payments company backed by top-tier Venture Capitalists. Bose is a graduate of Harvard Business School and Cornell University. Before that, he worked as the head of product with Intuit GoConnect, mobile and SaaS product company, for over two years. Bose has also worked with Oracle Corporation as Director of Solution Consulting for over six years.
"WhatsApp is special and can be a major partner for financial inclusion and economic growth in India. It's not only how so many families stay in touch, but increasingly it's how businesses are engaging with their customers. WhatsApp can positively impact the lives of hundreds of millions of Indians, allowing them to actively engage and benefit from the new digital economy." said Bose.
Edited by Manoj Sharma