Tannuka Juneja
Deepinder Goyal, co-founder and CEO of online food aggregator and delivery platform Zomato, said he will donate ₹700 crore ($90 million) received after acquiring some of its ESOPs (Employee Stock Option Plans). This donation will be given to Zomato Future Foundation (ZFF) towards educating the children of his company’s delivery partners.
Deepinder Goyal said in a statement that some ESOPs were given to him before Zomato went public last year and some ESOPs were received last month. According to the law, the acquisition of ESOPs for at least one year is required.
He said 100 percent of the proceeds from this ESOP round will be used for the foundation. He explained that he did not want to immediately liquidate or sell all these shares to protect the interests of shareholders and only for the benefit of the foundation.
“In the first year, I will liquidate less than 10 percent of these ESOPs for this fund,” Goyal said in a statement.
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Deepinder Goyal also said that ZFF would open other donation options for other company employees in addition to other fundraising opportunities. An independent governance board will also be set up for the foundation.
The foundation covers the education of up to two children among all Zomato delivery partners. For the children of those who have been in the business for more than five years, this includes an amount of up to ₹50,000 per year. If the delivery partner completes 10 years with the company, this amount will increase to ₹1,00,000. ZFF also includes graduate scholarships, special programs for girls, and education and livelihood support for the families of their delivery partners in the event of unfortunate situations like accidents.
Last year, Zomato became the first Indian internet unicorn to debut on the stock exchange, with a market valuation of ₹90,219 crore ($12 billion). It was the largest IPO to list in Indian markets since the ₹10,341 crore IPO of SBI cards and payment services in March 2020.
