Currently, Mobike claims to have over nine million bicycles, providing over 30 million rides across 200 cities in 16 countries every day

Mobike, one of the largest smart bicycle sharing company which was recently acquired by China’s Meituan, has announced the appointment of Vibhor Jain as Chief Executive Officer and Sujith Nair as Chief Business Officer.

The duo will play a pivotal role in driving Mobike’s entry and expansion in India across multiple cities, starting Pune, in the next 18 months.

Also Read: Mobike vs ofo: The race for the world’s bike rental market

Mobike currently operates in over 200 cities across 16 countries in the world.

Jain joins Mobike with more than 16 years of experience in business consulting and entrepreneurship. He began his career with global consulting firm Andersen and then joined Ernst & Young. In 14 years of his consulting stint he worked closely with governments, advising them on public policy and large-scale technology-driven transformations in public finance, sports, national identity, financial inclusion, payment systems and health domains, across geographies including India, the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia.

In India, he has led some of the most impactful reform programmes working with the Government of India including the Unique ID (Aadhaar) programme, National Population Register Programme, and tax reforms. Jain has earlier founded Atlanta Healthcare, an air quality management company.

Vibhor Jain

“We are committed to bringing in, together with the city administration, a global culture of bike sharing to cities in India. With rapid urban growth and changing landscape of Indian cities, there is a clear need to strengthen the public transport system through a focus on sustainable modal share commute options. Bike sharing initiative, an environment-friendly commute option, offers the right mobility fit towards the first-mile/last-mile and short distance commute. We have been engaging with the government authorities in several cities and states in India for sometime now and have received a tremendous response for launching smart bike sharing services, said Jain.

Also Read: Can Bike Sharing Services in Singapore Really Help You Save Money?

Nair brings over 15 years of experience in management consulting and technology sectors. He also joins Mobike India from E&Y, where he successfully led the smart mobility practice. Nair has been instrumental in driving growth through business model innovation and brings expertise in mobility systems, alternate revenue strategy, and digital payments.

“Globally we have exhibited that bicycle sharing can make urban transportation convenient, affordable, and better for the environment. We hope to replicate the same in India and are committed to making a positive impact on urban development and planning, the environment and access for our users. With Mobike’s innovation in smart bicycles, internet mobility platforms, and Artificial Intelligence, we look forward to offering a great experience to our riders in India,” said Nair.

Mobike was founded in January 2015 and officially launched in April 2016. Using specially designed bicycles equipped with GPS and proprietary smart-lock technology, it enables users of its smartphone app to find a bicycle near them, reserve and unlock it, then complete their trip by simply closing the lock anywhere regular bicycle parking is allowed.

Mobike now has over nine million bicycles, providing over 30 million rides every day.

Ofo, another Chinese bike-sharing company, said in April that it is bullish on India and aims to spend a portion of its recently-raised US$1 billion to scale up operations in the country.

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