Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal leaves board

Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal has resigned from the e-commerce group’s board, the two said Saturday. Sachin Bansal, the Bengaluru-headquartered startup’s other co-founder, left the board in 2018 after scuffle with the investors.

Binny Bansal, who reserved the rights to stay on Flipkart’s board for as long as he preferred, cited conflict of interest with his new venture as the reason for the move. Bansal launched OppDoor, a cross-border e-commerce startup, late last year. OppDoor offers end-to-end solutions — including market entry analysis, demand mapping, inventory management, cross-border logistics and taxation assistance — to businesses, according to its website.

The move also follows Bansal selling his entire stake in Flipkart, which was acquired by Walmart in 2018 for $16 billion, in recent years ahead of the e-commerce group’s much-awaited IPO, which is now slated for 2025. Bansal — who is also on the board of PhonePe, a position he is maintaining — has become a prolific investor in recent years, backing a number of startups including PhonePe.

“I am proud of the Flipkart Group’s achievements over the past 16 years. Flipkart is in a robust position, with a strong leadership team and a clear path forward, and with this confidence, I have decided to step aside, knowing the company is in capable hands,” Bansal said in a statement.

After leaving Flipkart, Sachin Bansal founded Navi, a financial services firm that is looking to go public. In 2022, Navi filed the paperworks for its initial public offering, but deterred the plan after the market conditions worsened.

“Flipkart is the outcome of a great idea and a lot of hard work, built by teams committed to transforming how India shops,” Flipkart Group chief executive Kalyan Krishnamurthy said in a statement Saturday. “We wish Binny the greatest as he embarks on his next venture and thank him for the deep impact he has enabled for the Indian retail ecosystem.”