The Cofounders of PhonePe have Announced a $1 Million Grant for Alma Mater SPIT to Spur Innovation

Nitin Konde, Varun Bhardwaj

Dec 25, 2024 — 3 min read

PhonePe Founders Pledge $1M Grant to SPIT for Innovation

On December 21, 2024, the Sardar Patel Institute of Technology (SPIT), one of Mumbai's top engineering schools, held its Annual Alumni Reunion in the SP Jain Auditorium on Bhavan's Campus in Andheri West. About 300 graduates, including prominent figures from the business and technological sectors, were invited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1999 graduating cohort and their professional achievements.

At the ceremony, 1999 batch alumni Sameer Nigam, CEO and PhonePe founder, and Rahul Chari, CTO and PhonePe founder, announced a $1 million donation. In order to enable students to create innovative solutions and lead successful endeavours, the grant will improve infrastructure, encourage creativity, and develop an entrepreneurial attitude in them.

SPIT Recognises Contributions of PhonePe Founders

Both the PhonePe founders received the prestigious alumni award in recognition of their outstanding achievements to society and industry. PhonePe's user-friendly, seamless platform has completely changed the digital payments landscape in India. Millions of people nationwide now have access to financial inclusion because of PhonePe's reputable brand and visionary leadership.

Rahul Chari, co-founder and CTO of PhonePe, spoke at the reunion and said that he has a particular place in his heart for being a member of the first graduating class of Computer Engineering when he thinks back on his time at SPIT. With the office for their first business situated within the institute itself, this is where he and his co-founder Sameer really started their entrepreneurial career. His ability to develop PhonePe has been greatly influenced by the solid foundation he established at SPIT, as well as the priceless insights he learnt from the outstanding teachers and peers he studied with. In order to assist SPIT in becoming a genuinely outstanding institution that continues to inspire and empower the upcoming generation of innovators and leaders, he hopes that other alumni will also participate in their own unique way.

The Sardar Patel College of Technology is committed to the motto, 'Students First, Alumni Always,' and aims to become the leading engineering college in Maharashtra by 2030, according to Dr. B.N. Chaudhari, the institute's principal. Only one in a million people becomes a donor, but one in ten succeeds, and one in a hundred becomes great. Rahul Chari and Sameer Nigam's $1 million contribution is much appreciated by the institute; it is a game-changing move that will spur the expansion of the college and its student body.

About SPIT

The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan came up with the concept of starting an engineering college in Mumbai in 1957. On August 19, 1962, Sardar Patel College of Engineering was officially opened. It began offering self-financed engineering courses in 1995 and operated as Sardar Patel College of Engineering (Unaided-wing) from 2005 to 2008, offering master's degrees in electronics, computer engineering, and information technology.

Both industry and the field of engineering education have highly regarded these courses. The Sardar Patel College of Engineering, Unaided Wing of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan was founded in 2005 in its new facility under the name and design of the Sardar Patel Institute of Technology. It is affiliated to Mumbai University.