Bengaluru – 11 May 2022: In an effort to accelerate its growth as a global tech player, Japanese C2C marketplace, Mercari, Inc. will establish a Center of Excellence in Bengaluru, which is expected to leverage Mercari’s network between Japan and India to support international breakthroughs. The center, which will be fully operational in June 2022, will house around 50 to 60 software engineers and other tech talent workers to develop IT service solutions for Mercari’s domestic business in Japan as well as for Mercari US. Over the next couple of years, Mercari is looking to grow its India operations as its third-largest base following Japan and U.S.
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Ken Wakasa, Managing Director, Mercari, Inc. says India will continue to remain a key focus area for Mercari, given the “highly qualified and vast talent pool” that is available in the country. He says Mercari has been actively recruiting from India and at present, “roughly 50% of the engineers” at Mercari’s Tokyo office comprise non-Japanese engineers.
He informs that strategic software development requirements for Mercari will be carried out at this Center of Excellence in conjunction with software developers at Mercari in Japan and the U.S.
“Being one of the largest e-commerce players in Japan, our focus is to create value in a global marketplace where anyone can buy & sell, and on maintaining consistent customer satisfaction by employing suitable tech solutions. Over the next few years, we plan to increase our headcount to support Mercari’s international endeavors and will look to recruit talent mainly from Bengaluru,” says Wakasa.
Mercari’s New Businesses
In addition to its core businesses, Mercari has launched new businesses namely Mercoin, Inc. its crypto-asset and blockchain business, and its logistics service Merlogi, Inc. The India Center for Excellence will provide tech support to these businesses as well. Mercari’s Center of Excellence in India will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mercari, Inc. led by Ken Wakasa, along with Mohan Bhatkar, Head of Engineering, and Junichi Nozaki, Head of Corporate.
Mercari is a Japan-based C2C marketplace company founded in 2013 with the mission to “Create value in a global marketplace where anyone can buy & sell.” From being the first tech unicorn from Japan before its IPO in 2018 it has evolved to become a global player.
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