Shares in digital payments firm MobiKwik surged 82% to ₹507.5 ($6) on their first day of trading, as the Indian fintech company made its market debut amid fierce competition from larger rivals.
The listing pushed MobiKwik’s market value to $464 million, well above its initial target of $250 million for the public offering. This remains substantially lower than the valuation of $924 million the startup commanded during a private fundraising in 2021.
The Gurugram-based company, founded 15 years ago by wife-husband duo Upasana Taku and Bipin Singh, has built one of India’s most popular digital wallet platforms. Yet it has faced challenges maintaining its market position following widespread adoption of UPI, the state-backed payments system. Prior to its $69 million IPO, it secured over $268 million in funding from investors including Peak XV and ADIA.
MobiKwik currently claims a user base of 161 million and serves 4.26 million merchant partners.
It’s the latest Indian startup to go public in a red-hot IPO market. More than 20 Indian startups are planning to go public next year, TechCrunch earlier reported.