Razorpay, the fintech unicorn, has announced its third employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) buyback scheme worth $10Mn, that is, Rs 73 crore, in which all of its 750 employees can participate. All present and former employees of the Company, from the youngest to the oldest — no matter which role or rank they belong to —who possess vested stocks have the opportunity to sell up to 33 per cent of their vested ESOP shares. These shares will be bought by Sequoia Capital India and GIC, the venture capitalists who are among the primary investors in Razorpay.
Razorpay is one of the youngest startups in the country to initiate a share buyback scheme for three consecutive years.
Harshil Mathur, CEO and co-Founder, Razorpay, proudly admits that it is only because of the dedication of the Company’s employees that Razorpay was able to turn 2020 into a profitable year. The Company thought this the best time to reward its workforce and appreciate their contribution. He says, “This ESOP buyback is our little way of giving back to the employees for their contribution and a form of wealth creation for all, as it is important for us to ensure that our employees also grow along with the company.”
Razorpay’s 1350–strong team managed to raise $100 mn in Series-D funding in October 2020, and the ESOP buyback scheme reflects the faith the company and its employees have shown in each other.
Till date, the Company has awarded ESOPs to 1000 employees, with current employees holding a majority share.
At a time when businesses were struggling to stay afloat, Razorpay managed to create cross-functional growth opportunities for its existing staff and hired over 550 new people in 2020. It posted a significant growth rate of 40 to 45 per cent month-on-month. It has also announced plans to hire 650 employees across engineering, product, customer experience, sales and marketing roles, in the next one year. The full-stack financial services company is facilitating online payments for more than five million small and large businesses.
