IIM Ahmedabad Case Study Traces ShareChat and Moj Evolution

ShareChat’s phenomenal success story to build India’s only thriving homegrown social media platform while withstanding headwinds and in an ecosystem dominated by global counterparts, is now a case study documented by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA).

The last ten years have been nothing but revolutionary for internet users, and ShareChat has been at the heart of that shift – powering Bharat’s move from text-heavy, English-first platforms to an internet that reflects India’s own languages, cultures and communities.

The IIMA case study, titled “ShareChat and Moj: Building India’s Social Media Company,” chronicles the company’s journey from a small experiment to a vibrant multi-product platform serving millions of users across vernacular languages. It covers how ShareChat identified the unmet needs of India’s freshly-on-the-internet users, built a vernacular-first content ecosystem, and navigated intense competition, funding winters and technology shifts to become cash-flow positive in 2025, while defining how digital media habits will be formed for the next billion users.

The case will inspire students at IIMA and other B-schools through a ringside view of how an Indian consumer-tech company redefined social media for Bharat while competing with some of the world’s biggest technology giants.

A decade of building for Bharat

Over the past decade, ShareChat has consistently bet on India’s next billion users—those who wanted content in their own language, style and culture, not borrowed from elsewhere. The launch of Moj in just 30 hours after the TikTok ban in June 2020 showcased ShareChat’s agility and deep understanding of India’s creator economy. Subsequent strategic moves including the acquisition of MX TakaTak and a sharp focus on AI-powered recommendation systems helped Moj emerge as the leading short-video destination for regional and vernacular audiences while competing head-on with global incumbents.

Commenting on the development, Manohar Singh Charan, CFO & Co-Founder, ShareChat & Moj, said, “It is an honour to see ShareChat’s journey being studied at IIM Ahmedabad, a campus that has shaped some of India’s sharpest business minds. For us, this case is not just about building a social media company; it is about proving that technology built in India, for India, can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world.”

Prof. Adrija Majumdar, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, co-author of the case study, said, “This case study underscores our commitment to bringing real-world business problems into the classroom and strengthening the learning and development of the country’s future business leaders. ShareChat’s growth presents a fascinating scenario for management students to analyze, learn and implement its learnings in real-world scenarios.”