IPO-bound Navi appoints Meesho's Vidit Aatrey to its Board

Sachin Bansal-led fintech company Navi Technologies has appointed Vidit Aatrey, Co-founder and CEO of Meesho, as an independent director on its Board of directors effective as of April 9, 2022, subject to completion of formalities.

Aatrey’s appointment is in continuation of Navi’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its Board. It recently appointed three other independent directors, namely Abhijit Bose, Head of India for WhatsApp; Maverix Platforms member Shripad Shrikrishna Nadkarni; and Usha A Narayanan, who is already a part of the Navi Group as an independent director for other group entities such as a Navi Finserv, Navi General Insurance, and has more than two decades of audit experience with Lovelock & Lewes Chartered Accountants.

With Aatrey’s appointment, Navi’s Board, which now comprises of seven members, will have majority representation from independent directors.

The other Board members include Sachin Bansal, Promoter and Co-founder, Navi; Ankit Agarwal, CFO, Navi; and Anand Sinha, former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

“I am pleased to welcome Bobby (Abhijit), Shripad, Usha, and most recently, Vidit, to our Board. They bring a unique perspective and I believe they will add significant strategic value to Navi as we continue to grow. These appointments further reinforce our commitment to setting high standards in corporate governance,” said Sachin Bansal.  

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Founded in 2018, Navi Technologies is the second venture of Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal. It offers tech-backed financial products and services, including personal loans, home loans, general insurance, and mutual funds. It also offers microfinance loans through its subsidiary Chaitanya India Fin Credit, which it acquired in 2019 for Rs 739 crore. 

On March 12, 2022, the startup filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise Rs 3,350 crore from the public markets in a fresh issue of shares. 

In the DRHP, Navi Technologies said it will invest Rs 2,370 crore from the capital raised in its subsidiary Navi Finserv Private Limited (NFPL) and Rs 1,500 crore in Navi General Insurance Limited (NGIL).

Navi has appointed ICICI Securities, BofA Securities, Axis Capital, Credit Suisse Securities (India), and Edelweiss Financial Services as the book running lead managers for the public issue.

Over the years, Sachin has invested Rs 4,000 crore in the fintech major. Navi's other investors include Gaja Capital, IFC, and HDFC Bank veteran Paresh Sukthankar.

In FY 2021, Navi’s revenue jumped over 3.9 times to Rs 779 crore, compared to Rs 199 crore reported in FY 2020. Also, Navi reported a profit of Rs 71.2 crore in FY 2021, against a loss of Rs 8.07 crore in the previous fiscal, YourStory reported in March.