Rs 10 crore investment fund announced for mini-app developers on Paytm Mini App store
In a virtual conference on Thursday, Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma announced Rs 10 crore investment fund for mini-app developers on Paytm Mini App Store, adding people who want to build mini-apps on the platform would now have an equity investment.
The mini-app store, which can be accessed directly via the Paytm app, was launched recently by the fintech company as part of its efforts to support Indian developers and compete against tech giant Google.
Today, we are announcing a ₹10 Crore equity investment for Indian developers to build the future of our nation's digital ecosystem. 🇮🇳
— Paytm (@Paytm) October 8, 2020
This development came at a time when there was an ongoing push to promote Indian alternatives to Google’s Play Store.
“Paytm Mini App store will bring 1 million apps before Google brings any charging obligation to Indian developers,” Sharma said.
We are committed to helping Indian developers & businesses leverage the Paytm ecosystem to their benefit. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/BJfBbF0Ttd
— Paytm (@Paytm) October 8, 2020
The platform won’t charge the apps any listing fee to the mini-app developers. Even the company will provide free payment avenues like UPI, Paytm Payments Bank among other alternatives. However, a 2 percent charge will be levied on credit cards.
Launching a scathing attack on Google, the Noida-based payments major’s founder Sharma called Google a ‘toll collector’, adding the government needs to regulate the search engine in the country.