📣In 2018, Ola set up an in-house think-tank, fully funded by the company. One it claimed would be fully independent. The Ola Mobility Institute was the brainchild of Anand Shah, Ola Electric's co-founder, a seasoned lobbyist and the chief organizer of Modi's events in US. (1/n)
Shah, who stayed low-key as opposed to Bhavish Agarwal, had headed South Asia division of US lobbying firm Albright Stonebrigde, worked at BMW and Audi, and donned many hats in India- receiving the Gujarat Garima Award in return. (2/n)
Alongside Shah (who left Ola Electric and moved back to the US), Ola has hired key figures to ramp up its lobbying. Take Prashant Kumar, for instance. The son of Niti Aayog's former vice chairman is the director of public policy and executive director of OMI today. (3/n)
And OMI itself has over the years been a chameleon, changing its stance on policy issues in alignment to Ola's commercial interests. A founding team member says it often shapes it output from the lens of Ola, and not the ecosystem. (4/n)
Today, as Ola fights critics both inside and outside, OMI has released a report on why data sharing is crucial to mobility. (No surprises, Ola was criticised for breaching data privacy a few days back.) The linkages don't seem to go away, casting doubts on independence. (5/n)
But, Ola's trump card might be its biggest investor: Softbank. The Japanese giant is officially registered for lobbying in the US. In 2017, it promised support to set up a lobby in India in the technology space. And leading its India ops is Manoj Kohli, the ex-Airtel CEO. (6/n)
As Ola gets a show-cause notice from the government, sales dip, and vehicles are recalled, it knows narratives is going to be key. The story reveals the playbook, and asks the important question: can others keep up?
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The story is a follow up to the RMI-Niti Aayog story I did last month ()
As EV race gathers pace, it's important to understand behind-the-scenes action around the playing field. I have a few gift credits, if you wish to read the story, please DM.
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