People · Financial Services

BharatPe co-founder Shashvat Nakrani steps down as COO to explore new ventures

By Startup Enthusiast · 13 April 2026

What they do

BharatPe is a fintech payments and lending platform serving merchants and consumers in India

Shashvat Nakrani, one of the co-founders, has stepped down from his role as COO and will transition to a strategic advisor role from May 2026

Nakrani will continue to serve on the board and will be involved in fundraising, IPO planning, M&A, and long-term strategy

Shashvat Nakrani has stepped down from his role as COO at BharatPe and will transition to a strategic advisor role from May 2026.
Nakrani will continue to serve on the board and will be involved in fundraising, IPO planning, M&A, and long-term strategy.
Nakrani co-founded BharatPe in 2018 with Bhavik Koladiya and later Ashneer Grover, who both left the company in 2022.
The company has been undergoing leadership changes and restructuring since 2022, including the removal of Grover and other senior executives.
Nakrani remains the largest individual shareholder in BharatPe and will continue to support the company’s long-term journey.

BharatPe is working to strengthen its governance and leadership structure after a series of leadership changes and legal disputes.
The company is preparing for a potential IPO in the next 10-12 months, subject to sustained profitability.
Nakrani’s transition reflects a broader shift toward institutional leadership and a more structured, less founder-centric model.

BharatPe is a fintech payments and lending platform that provides digital payments, financial services, and lending solutions to merchants and consumers in India.
The company offers products such as BharatPe QR, BharatPe One, BharatPe Swipe, and BharatPe Speaker for business payments.
It also provides consumer offerings like UPI payments, credit cards, bill payments, and personal loans.
BharatPe has a lending arm called Trillion Loans and a stake in Unity Small Finance Bank.
The company has been shifting its focus from pure payments to lending-led growth, which has helped narrow its losses and improve revenue.

BharatPe is preparing for a potential IPO in the next 10-12 months.
The company is strengthening its leadership structure and governance to meet public market expectations.

Product: Merchant-focused payments and financial services platform, including payment aggregation and lending-related products.
Customers: Merchants and small businesses that use its payments and financial services tools.
How it makes money: Earns from financial services and merchant transaction-linked offerings, including payments infrastructure and lending-related services.
What sets it apart: Strong merchant distribution and a broad payments stack built for small businesses.
Operations: Operates through a merchant network and also has a stake in Unity Small Finance Bank.