Somani-led Mastersoft plans IPO to raise Rs 100 cr

By Niraj Chinchkhede ;

Located in the Non-SEZ area of MIHAN on Wardha Road, the company offers IT solutions to over 1,400 educational institutions spread across the globe

Riding the wave of regional tech growth, one more city-based IT company is planning to raise money through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Founded by Sham Somani in 2000, Mastersoft ERP Solutions Pvt. Ltd, is charting its next phase of aggressive expansion for which the company is looking at raising Rs 100 crore within the next two-three years. Mastersoft, located in the Non-SEZ area of MIHAN on Wardha Road, offers IT solutions to over 1,400 institutions spread across the globe. At the beginning of the current century, when Nagpur’s IT sector was at a nascent stage and grappling with poor infrastructure, people were shying away from investing in it. However, Sham Somani saw an opportunity in the then ‘yet-to develop’ sector.

Armed with a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the prestigious erstwhile Visvesvaraya Regional College of Engineering, Somani took a calculated leap to establish his own IT venture in 2000. What began as a modest operation with just a couple of individuals has now blossomed into a global enterprise employing over 400 professionals. Interestingly, the company has further plans to hire about 250 more IT professionals in the coming days. In an exclusive interaction with The Hitavada recently, Somani spoke about his entrepreneurial journey. “After completing my post graduation, I worked in a couple of companies in Delhi. In 1987, I joined the Computer Centre of Nagpur University and got the opportunity to handle the Super mini VAX 11 780 computer. It was among the first-of-its-kind computers available in the city,” he recalled. “At that time, there were no computerisation facilities available in educational institutions in the region. Most of the schools and colleges were handling tedious tasks of fees collection, admission processes and other routine work manually,” Somani said.

Somani’s company started offering a one-stop solution needed to run an education institution including various modules such as admissions, academic and examinations, finance, establishment and HR, library, hostel, attendance, etc. Soon the company bagged work orders from reputed educational institutions not just from the region but also from other states. Gurudev Somani, son of Sham Somani and CEO & Co-founder of the company, said Mastersoft has recently started operations in the Middle East and some parts of the US. “We are undisputed leaders in our field and stand as a premier provider of best-in-class e-governance solutions for educational institutions across India and abroad,” he added. Over the recent past, three to four other IT companies from the region have successfully tapped into the capital markets through similar public offerings, collectively drawing significant national attention to the city’s burgeoning potential as a vibrant commercial hub.