Ankiti Bose | |
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| Born | (1992-07-15)15 July 1992 (age 33) |
| Alma mater | St. Xavier's College, Mumbai |
| Employers | |
Ankiti Bose (born 1992) is an Indian formerbusiness executive who co-founded defunct e-commerce company,Zilingo. On 31 March 2022, she was suspended as CEO after an attempt to raise capital raised questions about Zilingo's accounting practices, according toBloomberg.[1][2] On 20 May 2022 Bose was fired from Zilingo.[3]
Bose was born inIndia.[4] She completed her schooling from Cambridge School, Kandivli, Mumbai[citation needed]. She studied mathematics and economics atSt. Xavier's College, Mumbai.[5]
Bose began her career working atMcKinsey & Company andSequoia Capital inBangalore.[6] After a trip to theChatuchak Weekend Market[7] Bose noticed that fashion markets inSoutheast Asia had immense room for penetration and growth.[5] The market includes over 11,000 independent merchants lacking an online presence.[5] Whilst there was investment in improving access to the internet, Bose recognized that retailers were not trained in financing, scaling-up, website design, and procurement nor well equipped to compete with large global players.[6]
In 2015, Bose left her position as an investment analyst atSequoia Capital to launch her own company,Zilingo.[8] Bose was twenty three when she foundedZilingo.[9] She moved toSingapore in 2016, where she developed the software and supply chain solutions.[10]
TheChina–United States trade war resulted inUnited States retailers leaving China, which allowedZilingo to expand into America.[11] She has worked to source Indian fabrics for Californian factories as well as opening offices on theWest Coast andEast Coast.[11] AtZilingo, Bose supported a program to train women in Indonesia to create clothing, recognising that inIndonesia almost 40% of women leave the workforce after they get married.[11][12]Zilingo set up a coaching programme to support leaders across the company.[11]
In March 2022, Bose was suspended, fromZilingo with allegations of financial misrepresentation and mismanagement, pending an investigation. Among other allegations, shareholders questioned her S$50,000 per month salary which according to her contract five years ago was S$8,500. Her management style of using intimidation to extract compliance in her daily working inZilingo was also called into question.[13]