Основатель Cred Кунал Шах покинул посты промоутера и члена совета директоров компании

New Delhi: Kunal Shah, who was roped in by Meta Platforms, Inc as WhatsApp’s new global chief executive, is no longer a promoter and board member at unicorn startup Cred, the company he founded eight years ago. Shah stepped down as promoter of the financial rewards company on 22 June by converting his 11.14% promoter shareholding in his personal capacity into public shares, according to documents filed with the ministry of corporate affairs by Dreamplug Technologies Private Ltd, Cred’s holding company. Mint accessed and independently reviewed the documents. Shah also resigned as a member of the board of directors of the company the same day, leaving him without a managerial seat on Cred’s table. He continues to hold about 20% in the startup in his own capacity as well as through his family investment office, QED Innovation Labs LLP. In his appointment announcement as the new WhatsApp chief, Shah said Meta Platforms will neither hold a board seat at Cred nor gain access to Cred’s customer database. It was not clear whether Shah stepped down as he took charge of WhatsApp’s global monetization plans because of a stipulation by Meta or voluntarily. Independent industry consultants said the move was largely in line with expectations. “Being the global chief of WhatsApp is a job that would consume all of an executive’s time. As Shah took charge, it was widely expected that he may be stepping down from all duties at Cred,” said Jayanth Kolla, co-founder of technology consultancy firm Convergence Catalyst. Shah remaining as a public shareholder and Meta coming on board as a big-ticket investor are great for Cred, Kolla said. “It shows that the top investors remain happy to hold their stakes in the company,” he added, noting that “Cred does have many questions over its profitability and general business model to answer.” Valuation decline Meta invested ₹8,550 crore ($890 million) to pick up about 20% in Cred on 22 June, valuing the Indian startup at almost $4.5 billion and ending its prolonged struggle to raise capital. In June 2022, Singapore’s sovereign fund led a $140 million funding round for Cred at a valuation of $6.4 billion. Between then and May last year, the company’s valuation declined to $3.5 billion. Company paperwork of an internal fair-market valuation exercise accessed by Mint showed that Cred was valued at $1.2 billion in December. Shah and Cred did not respond to detailed questionnaires emailed to them on 13 July seeking comment. With the new shift in shareholding, Cred becomes the latest startup not to have promoter shareholders—joining logistics platform Delhivery, financial services firms Paytm and PolicyBazaar, and food and quick commerce services Swiggy and Eternal. Companies were previously required to maintain promoter shareholding. However, the Securities and Exchange Board of India relaxed the regulations and exempted startups from mandatory promoter shareholding. This allows companies not to be controlled by a sole founder or group of founders but by professionally appointed key executives. Most new-age startups are backed by private equity and not having promoter shareholders is typically seen as a step towards a public listing. A representative for Cred did not respond to a query on whether the company is preparing for an initial public offering. Launched in April 2018, Cred offers users points for making credit card bill payments that can be redeemed for rewards. Cred’s earnings come from offering loans, additional credit cards and targeted advertisements to its customer base. Cred claims to have 17 million monthly active users on its platform and accounts for almost 40% of all credit card payments in the country. However, the company is yet to declare a full profitable fiscal. Cred had ₹2,535.7 crore in revenue and a net loss of ₹1,692.1 crore in FY25, data accessed by Tofler showed. Shah, shortly before leaving, claimed to have recorded Cred’s first-ever profitable quarter in the January to March period this year.