Managing Director - Planet Smart City, India
Thank you, it’s great to be here. I’m Marco Pilia, and I’ve been the Managing Director of Planet Smart City in India since 2019. When I moved to India, my main goal was to launch the company’s operations here. At the time, Planet Smart City was a young organization—founded in 2015—so it truly felt like building a startup within a startup.
Our first real estate project launched in 2020, and we’ve since added two more. Today, we’re developing and selling around 5,000 apartments in Pune.
India has been an incredibly dynamic and exciting market. The pace of change, the openness to innovation, and the scale of opportunity make it a rewarding environment—both personally and professionally.
Our first venture abroad was a smaller project in Texas, USA. But soon after, India emerged as a top priority. Within two years, India caught up with Brazil in terms of size and is now our leading market by turnover, particularly in the affordable housing segment.
Globally, we focus on key emerging markets—Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India—which together account for over 60% of global affordable housing supply. Our mission is to innovate where it matters most: in large-scale markets underserved by traditional developers.
We bridge a critical gap—combining access to capital from developed markets with innovation deployment in high-growth regions like India.
While Planet Smart City isn’t solely a PropTech company, technology is at the heart of our offering.
We’ve built a digital platform with two main components:
Infrastructure Management: We optimize electricity and water use across our communities to improve efficiency and reduce costs—leading to real savings for residents and a smaller environmental footprint.
Resident Services & Engagement: From food ordering and access control to visitor management and community events, we’re fostering real social connections. Our Community Managers help residents collaborate, share skills, and even build micro-businesses.
Ultimately, we don’t just build homes, we help build connected, thriving communities.
India’s market size and the rapid growth of the affordable housing segment were key drivers. Additionally, India’s high digital adoption made it the ideal place to implement our tech-driven model.
But entering this market wasn’t easy. The biggest challenge? Finding the right local partner. We evaluated potential collaborators across multiple cities before partnering with Kolte-Patil, a leading real estate developer in Pune.
Without a strong local ally, managing land acquisition, construction, and regulatory compliance would have been nearly impossible—and legally unfeasible due to FDI restrictions.
From day one, your team has been a great support—helping us with accounting, legal matters, cross-border transactions, and regulatory compliance. While Kolte-Patil handles real estate, UJA Global is our trusted go-to for all other key functions.
Our approach is deeply innovation-driven. Unlike traditional promoter-led firms, we operate as a corporate organization with a long-term vision.
We’re not in the business of quick project cycles. Instead, we’re building a scalable platform, both digital and physical, that centers around people—not just buildings.
While most developers in India build primarily for local needs or audiences, we operate with a global mindset, creating innovative tech solutions that also involve the community. We are doing things in a more forward-thinking and connected way than most players in the Indian market.
Pune is among India’s top seven cities for population growth and is a major IT hub. That IT talent base aligns perfectly with our customer profile—young professionals seeking value and innovation.
But the real turning point was our connection with Kolte-Patil. It wasn’t just about numbers—it was about finding the right cultural and strategic fit, which we found in Pune.
After choosing India and Pune, and securing our real estate partner, I tapped into the Italian expat network for broader advisory support. That’s how I was introduced to UJA Global—through strong word-of-mouth recommendations.
From day one, your team has been a great support—helping us with accounting, legal matters, cross-border transactions, and regulatory compliance. While Kolte-Patil handles real estate, UJA Global is our trusted go-to for all other key functions.
We’re in the process of raising capital, aiming for $60 million in total funding. India remains our top priority, and we plan to launch at least one more project this year.
We’re expanding beyond Pune into cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi. At the same time, we’re scaling our digital platform, which already serves over 200 residential communities in Pune and is growing rapidly in other cities.
Because it’s asset-light, our tech platform is easier to scale. By the end of 2025, we hope to reach 1,000 communities, eventually scaling to hundreds of thousands across India.
Exactly. While the end-users are the residents, our clients are the housing societies—the Residential Welfare Association (RWA). We provide them with infrastructure and service management tools that help reduce electricity bills, optimize operations, and engage communities.
We’re already present in Pune, Bangalore, Navi Mumbai, and Hyderabad—and expanding. Our platform is designed for scale and affordability, and we’ve had zero customer churn since launching in late 2023.
When I first landed in Mumbai in June 2019, the heat and the crowd were overwhelming. Coming from New Zealand, the contrast was dramatic.
But over time, I came to appreciate India’s vibrant energy and beautiful chaos. It’s a place full of activity, change, and opportunity. Once you learn to move with the rhythm, it becomes a place that truly grows on you.
At UJA Global, we’re proud to support clients like Planet Smart City—companies blending purpose, innovation, and global thinking to make a lasting impact in India and beyond.
Stay tuned for more inspiring stories from the leaders shaping India’s business future.
