Suhail Sameer to start VC fund with two former co-founders: Report

On Tuesday, BharatPe announced that Sameer was stepping away from his post and will serve as the Strategic Advisor effective January 7

Suhail Sameer, the outgoing Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BharatPe, will launch a new early-stage Venture Capital (VC) fund primarily to invest in consumer tech and fintech companies, a report in the Financial Express (FE) said. Two other former co-founders of BharatPe will reportedly join him in the venture. 

Sameer told FE that the VC fund will have Indian as well as global investors, but will be domiciled in India. 

"I'm launching the fund along with two of my friends who are also ex-founders and prolific investors...We are going to put a large part of the capital ourselves (unlike traditional funds). We have enough interest, but we haven’t finalised anything on the fund construct and LPs," he told FE.

On Tuesday, BharatPe announced that Sameer was stepping down from his post and will serve as the strategic advisor effective January 7. 

"This will ensure a smooth transition for current CFO, Nalin Negi who has been appointed interim CEO to partner with senior executives to bolster execution in all phases of the company's business," the company said in a statement.

“…we would like to thank Suhail for the tremendous contribution he made in steering BharatPe into a leadership position as a fintech player in India and helping us ride through various challenges during this journey. We have recognized the need to dedicate time and resources to finding the leader who will continue to catapult BharatPe to new heights,” said Rajnish Kumar, chairman of BharatPe’s board.

Nalin Negi, the chief financial officer, will be the interim CEO.