PhonePe gives $200 million worth shares to 2,200 employees

Payment company PhonePe gave shares worth USD 200 million (about Rs 1,500 crore) to all of its 2,200 employees in January to create an incentive for them to be invested in long-term organisational growth.

Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are granted by many start-ups, but are generally given on the basis of seniority and critical roles.

"In January 2021, we launched the PhonePe Stock Option Plan that gives every PhonePe employee the chance to own a part of the company. The USD 200 Mn plan allotted stock options to all 2,200 employees at PhonePe, enabling everyone in the organization to benefit from its success," the company said in a blog post.

Also read: PhonePe beats Google Pay again to become top UPI mobile app in December

It said stock option plan is a core component of its compensation philosophy to encourage collaboration, long-term focus and organisation-first thinking.

"By having ESOPs at a minimum of USD 5,000 for all levels, we enable every employee in the organisation to participate in the wealth generation opportunity they have helped create - Karte Ja, Badhte Ja," it added.

The company's decision to give ESOPs come after it was partially spun-off from Flipkart in December. PhonePe founder and CEO Sameer Nigam shared took to Twitter to share the news.

"Proud to report that ALL 2200+ full time employees at @PhonePe_ own ESOPs in the company now. 1500 Crores worth of ESOPs issued overall. Incredibly emotional and gratifying moment for @rahulchari9 and myself as founders. Shared wealth creation feels awesome. Karte Ja Badhte Ja!," he tweeted.

Also read: PhonePe gets Rs 150 cr in funding; plans to raise over Rs 5,000 cr