Facebook-owned WhatsApp said on Wednesday that it has appointed Abhijit Bose as head of its operations in India, its biggest market by users.
Bose, the co-founder and Chief Executive of mobile payments firm Ezetap, is the first-ever country head for the messaging platform, WhatsApp said in a statement. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School and Cornell University.
Bose will begin his new role at WhatsApp in early 2019, it added. He will build WhatsApp's first full country team outside of California and will be based in Gurugram, WhatsApp said.
The company added that Bose and his team will focus on helping businesses, both large and small, connect with their customers. It pointed to the release of the WhatsApp Business app for small business owners earlier this year, and the WhatsApp Business API to serve larger businesses, as steps in that direction. It added there are over one million users of these WhatsApp business products in India.
“WhatsApp is deeply committed to India and we are excited to keep building products that help people connect and support India's fast-growing digital economy. As a successful entrepreneur himself, Abhijit knows what it takes to build meaningful partnerships that can serve businesses across India,” said Matt Idema, Chief Operating Officer of WhatsApp.
“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.
Written with inputs from Reuters
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