MOGO: The First Indian Esports Company To Join NASDAQ

The future of Esports is bright in India. MOGO is the first Indian Esports company which has been listed on NASDAQ. They have so many growth plans in this business.

Esports, or electronic sports, are helping to promote India internationally. The last Commonwealth Games (CWG) saw India’s esports team take home a bronze medal, and now an Indian esports company has been listed on Nasdaq, the US stock exchange.

Mobile Global Esports, often known as MOGO, became the first American esports company to go public when its shares were made available for registration on the Nasdaq Capital Market on 29th July and closed on 2nd August.

At a price of $4 per share, the business sold 1.725 million shares to raise about Rs 55 crore. 

According to Sunny Bhandarkar, CEO of MOGO Esports, its share price has more than tripled from its initial issue price to $12.57.

Sunny Bhandarkar, CEO of MOGO Esports said,

“Due to the company’s youth, the path wasn’t simple. We chose to list on the Nasdaq mostly because we are aware of how influential universities are among Americans (in terms of sports).

We were aware that a Nasdaq listing would increase public interest in our company.”

Indian Esports Level In The World

MOGO Esports’ journey began in 2016 when the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), a body that represents 854 major universities and the sports and academic industries in India, was exposed to Esports.

In October of last year, SII, an American branding, marketing, and sports promotion organization, gave MOGO the business rights to its operations. SII is the owner of 14.5 percent of MOGO.

According to Bhandarkar, MOGO is now developing and growing the firm SII founded, which is centered on the rising Esports industry, with a focus on India and other South Asian regions.

He went on to say that one of the biggest and fastest-growing Esports markets in the world, and specifically for university Esports events, is India.

In cooperation with AIU and another significant collegiate sports organization named Elite University Sports Alliance of India Pvt. Ltd., SII has granted MOGO a license to design, organize, promote, and monetize mobile Esports events (EUSAI).

EUSAI is able to organize and make money from a variety of sports, including Esports, thanks to direct contracts it has with 73 Indian colleges.

Esports Tournaments In India

Since last year, the business has hosted 27 Esports competitions in India for games like Valorant and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), among others.

“There will be 70 events this year, and we want to have ten different games. We’ll continue to grow,” said the CEO.

In September of this year, the organization will also debut its first Mobile Global South Asian Inter-University Esports competition with a prize fund of Rs 1 crore.

“It acquired a viral aspect because of the prize pools of games like PUBG (Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds) and BGMI. Consequently, we will maintain a sizable prize pool for our competitions,” he added.

The highest prize pool was Rs 1 crore awarded in the Battlegrounds Mobile India Series (BGIS) by Krafton last year. 

According to a 2022 study by the consulting firm EY and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the total award money in 2021 exceeded Rs 20 crore (FICCI).

To Welcome Indian Talent

According to Bhandarkar, the business would use the money raised from the inaugural share sale to increase the prize fund, host more competitions, and create an Indian Esports game.

Additionally, MOGO wants to offer scholarships to high school students at its 75 partner colleges in India. 

Additionally, the company will hire 100 people in India for jobs as game developers, instructors, streamers, and statisticians.