Goutam Kumar Jain, Co-Founder, M-tech Informatics Ltd.
Goutam Kumar Jain is the Co-Founder of M-tech Informatics Ltd. He has over 10 years of experience in the mobile industry, with rich knowledge of product innovation and development. The compay was established in 2010 and aims to provide quality affordable mobile handsets solutions to customers across the country. The company has bagged Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Award as the most promising brand of 2016 and has also bagged the Most Emerging Brand of the Year 2015 by Mobility and Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award. M-tech is backed by a network of 600+ distribution center, 20,000 retailers and 700+ service centers allowing it to seamlessly serve consumers.
In conversation with Dominic Rebello, Goutam reveals his aim of making M-tech Informatics a Rs.1000 cr company by 2020.
What is the idea behind M-tech Mobile?
M-tech Informatics was established in 2010 with the idea to bring affordable mobile technology to consumers and thereby bridge the digital divide. With 600 + service centres, 600 distributors and 20,000 retailers apart from e-commerce sites, today, M-tech is synonymous with affordable feature and smart phones.
How are you different from others?
Right from our inception the motto of M-tech mobiles has been to offer great quality products at an affordable price and supplement it with excellent after sales service. As a brand we keep innovating, listens to our customers and channel partners needs and stays true to our core philosophy of quality, affordability and service, to stay ahead stay ahead of the curve.
Tell us about the company's future and growth prospects?
We are hoping to close the FY 2017-18 with handset sales of 6 mn and revenues of Rs 340 crore. We are expecting to be a Rs.1000 cr company by 2020. This ambitious target will be made possible through our plans to venture into mobile accessories, components and lifestyle products soon.
What do you expect from the Union Budget 2018?
As India gears up to achieve the top position in mobile phone shipments, the industry expects the government to maintain and introduce more favorable policies for domestic manufacturers. First, in order to prevent dumping of phones in the Indian market, the government should increase the duty on CBU’s to 20% (recently the government has increased duty on CBU’s from 10% to 15%). This will provide domestic manufacturers a level playing field vis a vis importers and encourage them to expand capacity. Secondly, we expect the government to lower bank loan interest rate by 2% - 3%. Mobile phone manufacturing is a capital intensive industry, with long credit cycles. Also, with the introduction of GST, a lot of working capital is tied up, making it tough for manufacturers. Furnishing a bank guarantee rather than blocking working capital would be a big relief. Therefore, to ease the pressure and make manufacturers more competitive, a lower interest rate coupled with bank guarantee would be crucial. Last but not the least, we hope the government extends the IGST benefits to manufacturers.
Where do you see yourself five years down the road?
In our journey of 7 plus years we have grown consistently and are on track to transform into a Rs 1000 cr company by 2020. In the next 5 years we hope to among the top 5 affordable consumer electronics brand in India.