Grab Financial Lending Boss Leaving for Indonesian Startup

The head of lending at Singapore’s Grab Financial will leave the company for Indonesian startup BukuWarung.

As Bloomberg notes in a Thursday (April 28) report on the departure, Ankur Mehrotra’s departure presents a setback for Grab’s FinTech ambitions. Sources close to the matter say Mehrotra plans to join BukuWarung as a senior executive, although the nature of his precise role with the company is unclear.

Founded in 2019, the company is a software maker that builds digital infrastructure for Indonesia’s micro, small and medium enterprises.

Read more: Grab Top Exec to Lead Crypto Gaming Venture

According to Bloomberg, Mehrotra’s exit is the second recent high-profile departure at Grab, following the resignation of Wui Ngiap Foo, the firm’s former head of technology, who left to oversee Ethlas, a cryptocurrency gaming venture.

See also: Grab Readies for Dec. 2 Nasdaq Opening

Grab went public in December via a record-breaking merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Altimeter Growth in a deal that valued the company at $40 billion and made it the most valuable startup in Southeast Asia.

Since then, the company has slid around 75% — it dropped 20% on its first day of trading — to a record low, Bloomberg reported, due to lackluster earnings and souring stock market sentiment.

Learn more: Toss, GoTo Compete With Grab for Super App Supremacy in SE Asia

Co-founded by Anthony Tan, the company’s CEO, and Tan Hooi Ling, COO, Grab began as a ride-hailing platform in 2012 but has since evolved into a technology platform that provides food delivery, payments, insurance, investing, telemedicine, hotel reservations and other services for consumers and merchants.

Last month, PYMNTS reported that Grab is fighting for super app supremacy in Southeast Asia with the companies Toss and GoTo. The company reportedly plans to launch a digibank in Singapore this year.