BharatPe's chief business officer Dhruv Bahl steps down, Ashneer reacts

Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl, former COO of BharatPe who was recently reassigned as Chief Business Officer (CBO) for the company's merchant lending division, has stepped down. In a statement to IANS, a company spokesperson said that “we would like to confirm that Bahl is moving on from BharatPe to pursue his entrepreneurial passions”.“He has been an integral part of the organisation and contributed to the growth of the company. We thank him for his contribution to BharatPe's journey and wish him all the best for future endeavours,” the spokesperson added.

BharatPe Co-founder and former managing director Ashneer Grover on Wednesday took a dig at Bahl's exit in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Tweeting in the Haryanvi language, Grover said: “Tau, You just cannot accomplish the task. The way you act is like a Chaudhary (strong man). Your kids have even fled the scene so you get back now.”In a strategic move to strengthen its merchant lending operations, BharatPe recently acquired a controlling stake in Mumbai's Trillion Loans, a non-banking financial company (NBFC).

“At BharatPe, the merchant lending business has grown significantly over the course of the last one year, under the able guidance of an experienced leadership team. BharatPe has a strong internal team that will continue to drive growth in the times to come,” the company further said in a statement.

Bahl's exit came in the wake of a series of high-level resignations that the fintech firm has seen in recent months. Chief Technology Officer Vijay Aggarwal, the Head of Consumer Product-PostPe Nehul Malhotra, the Chief Product Officer of Lending and Consumer Products Rajat Jain, and the Vice-President of Technology Geetanshu Singla, recently stepped down from BharatPe.BharatPe CEO Suhail Sameer had stepped down from his position in January. Sameer was said to be starting a new venture capital (VC) fund and invest in at least 20 founder teams this year.--IANS na/ksk