WeWork's Ex Country Head Sucheta Mahapatra Joins Branch International as MD

Branch International, a personal finance app, has announced the appointment of P&L leader Sucheta Mahapatra as its Managing Director, India. This fortifies the company's commitment to growth and its subsequent increase in workforce in India.

With more than 4 million customers and $500 Million in loans disbursed across the world, Branch International is improving access to credit for potential borrowers, especially to users who do not have access to credit lines from traditional institutions. Branch International's machine learning algorithms determines the creditworthiness of borrowers using 30 plus parameters from the smartphone.

With its population of 1.38 billion and patchy microfinance distribution, India presents a market that is primed for Branch International's services. Since its entrance into the Indian market in 2019, Branch International has disbursed more than Rs. 1.21 billion in loans. Adding Sucheta Mahapatra as MD-India for Branch International is another step towards solidifying its hold in India's microfinance industry.

Recognized as a technology thought leader, Sucheta is an IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus with 15+ years of experience across industries. Having held leadership positions at WeWork, Airtel, and Bain in the past, Sucheta Mahapatra brings her expertise in scaling the disruptive business to the table at Branch International. Along with successfully handling end-to-end sales, product, marketing, and real estate operations during her tenure at WeWork, Mahapatra also has experience heading business strategy and Airtel's IoT and enterprise mobility arms. Sucheta is on the Board of IIM Sambalpur, has been recognized as a thought leader in Technology (5G Congress, ET Telecom) and is an active champion for women in business.

As the Managing Director of Branch International in India, Mahapatra's responsibilities include driving business strategy, raising capital, and building the company's presence in India.

Newly-appointed India MD Sucheta Mahapatra outlines her vision to establish Branch International as a full-service digital bank catering to the financial needs of Indians. "Branch, with its proven technology, has an unparalleled opportunity to unlock a mobile-first suite of personal finance products for over a billion Indians. I am excited and privileged to be part of this journey!".

Commenting on the development, Branch International CEO Matthew Flannery says, "We are looking at momentous growth in the coming months. Branch International is working closely towards its global mission to deliver world-class financial technology services to the mobile generation. With Sucheta at the helm of the Indian team, we are confident that her experience and expertise will enable us to reach our goals faster."