ZestMoney 2.0: Top Leadership to Form New Management after Founders Call it Quits

Following the latest twist in the Indian fintech company, ZestMoney’s three founders announced their departure from the troubled fintech company. In order to revive the Goldman Sachs-backed Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) startup, the company has chalked out plans and is now calling it Zemo 2.0 or ZestMoney 2.0. A day after the announcement, cofounder and CEO Lizzie Chapman declared that senior vice president of growth Abhishek Sharma, chief banking officer Mandar Satpute, and vice president of finance Mohit Chhajer would assume leadership of the startup.

The startup’s founders, Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma, and Ashish Anantharaman, who collectively own 18.5% stake in the company, informed staff members about their decision during a townhall meeting. There were 150 employees on the roll at the Townhall, which was held on Monday. The founders said that they would be stepping down from day-to-day operations, ensuring a new management transition over the following three to four months, and continuing to support the company moving forward as key shareholders.

The company said, “The new management team, made up of long-term, senior-level leaders who have helped the company scale since its inception, is expected to continue driving ZestMoney’s growth and expansion in India.” The company further mentioned that a funding round from current investors, including Quona Capital, Zip, Omidyar Network India, Flourish VC, and Scarlet Digital, is nearing completion and is anticipated to close in the coming weeks.

ZestMoney further mentioned that the future growth of the business and the financial path to profitability will be supported by the new capital. The fintech now only has about 100 employees, down from about 500 in December of last year. About 130 Zest employees have transferred to PhonePe since March, and nearly 100 have been let go.

In November 2022, negotiations for a deal between PhonePe and ZestMoney began. At the time, Mint reported that PhonePe planned to acquire ZestMoney for $200 to $300 million. In March of this year, the acquisition was abandoned due to valuation issues.

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