CAPRIA - Key Persons
Aishani Iyengar is a social media intern at Capria Ventures. Based in Bangalore, she is responsible for crafting compelling content for social media channels and ensuring day-to-day posting.
Aishani has obtained a BSc Hons degree in Psychology with a minor in Business from Krea University. Her professional experience includes internships with Swiggy, Biocon and Teach for India.
Aishani enjoys badminton, singing and attending live concerts.
Ankur is responsible for growth of our portfolio companies and fundraising in India.
Ankur Dubey has more than a decade long venture investing and operating experience across tech, healthcare and consumer sectors. In his previous stint, he served as a Partner at J1 Capital- an early stage tech VC fund. Across his journey as an early stage investor in the last decade, Ankur has been part of investment teams that have invested in 2 unicorns and several of his investee companies have gone on to raise $50 Mn+ in capital raise. He has a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and an MBA from IIM Raipur.
Ankur is deeply passionate about cricket and badminton.
Dave Richards is an entrepreneur, business scaler, and venture capital investor operating across regions in the Global South - India, Southeast Asia, Latin America & Africa. He is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Capria Ventures.
Dave also co-founded Capria's India operations (formerly known as Unitus Ventures).
His commitment to fostering social opportunity through business is evident through his involvement with Unitus Labs as a pioneer in accelerating the growth of microfinance and female empowerment across the Global South.
Dave's extensive professional journey includes leading the consumer business at digital media pioneer, Real Networks and building B2B project management and enterprise database software businesses at Symantec and Sybase.
His entrepreneurial spirit led him to co-found several ventures, such as HelpHive, Bodega Ventures, and Nargis Library Recovery.
Dave has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia.
He enjoys working with ambitious, relentlessly driven entrepreneurs dedicated to innovating for the masses.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Investor Relations
At Capria Ventures, as Vice President, Dhruv manages the end-to-end process of raising capital from investors.
He has had two stints in consultancy, a short one at EY (Risk Advisory) and a longer one at KPMG (Government Advisory). Dhruv completed his Bachelor's in Economics (Honors) at Christ University before moving to the Netherlands to do a Master's in Economics at Maastricht University (School of Business & Economics). After this, he entered the startup ecosystem as an Entrepreneur-In-Residence at a startup studio called Holland Startup in Utrecht. He then ran an investment banking consultancy firm called AVACASA, which was focused on giving founders an opportunity to raise capital from investors.
Outside of work, Dhruv is an avid football and mixed martial arts fan.
Outside work, Francis is deeply passionate about outdoor activities, reading, and exploring diverse cultures
Job Titles:
- Investor
- Founder of a Quantitative Research Firm
- Investor Relations & Analytics Fellow
Kamran Khan is dedicated to designing and developing GenAI-related products. He is responsible for upgrading existing systems to enhance performance and functionality and implementing cutting-edge technologies to improve system capabilities.
Before joining Capria Ventures, Kamran completed the MERN full-stack developer program at Masai School. He pursued a B.Tech. in Civil Engineering at Ajay Kumar Garg Engineering College, Ghaziabad, before diving into the world of technology.
In his leisure time, Kamran enjoys exploring new places, indulges in his passion for cricket, and finds solace in the beauty of nature.
Karina focuses on deal sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio management. She is also responsible for deal execution and further helping founders to accelerate growth.
Prior to Capria, Karina worked in various strategic roles at OVO, an Indonesian Fintech Company, as well as at BNP Paribas Asset Management as an Analyst. She has a dual degree in Accounting & Finance from Bina Nusantara University International & Curtin University.
Karina enjoys travelling and various kinds of sports, such as running and badminton, during her leisure time.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Manager, PR
- Assistant Manager, Public Relations
Kshitija is Assistant Manager, Public Relations at Capria Ventures, dedicated to crafting engaging narratives to drive impactful communications. With a keen interest in the startup ecosystem, Kshitija has closely followed India's startup boom, gaining invaluable insights along the way.
Prior to joining Capria Ventures, she honed her skills at leading PR agencies - MSL and MullenLowe Lintas, where she successfully managed the communications for Elevation Capital, leading fintech unicorns like Groww, as well as Embassy REIT, Porsche, and renowned legacy brands in the insurance and banking space.
Before leaping into the world of communications, Kshitija was a Network Engineer at Ericsson, leveraging her Bachelor of Technology degree to ensure seamless operations. She further expanded her expertise with a post-graduation from Welingkar Institute of Management.
In her free time, Kshitija enjoys catching up on slice-of-life dramas and scrolls through pop culture and skin-care trends.
Mobola works on finding and supporting the best technology firms in Africa and has dedicated herself to driving capital into the most attractive opportunities, placing funding in the hands of those best positioned to grow businesses at scale across emerging market economies. She enjoys unraveling the ‘why' that drives technological marvels.
She has worked as a Venture Partner with the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, a Partner at the uMunthu Fund and a Principal at Alitheia Capital. She has a BBA from the University of Houston, an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MSc from the London Business School.
Music resonates deeply with Mobola, and she finds the synergy between good food and good company nothing short of magical.
Nikhil oversees due diligence and portfolio management.
Nikhil previously worked as a Portfolio Manager at Setu Capital and as an investment analyst for Prop Desk. He holds a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Roorkee and a post-graduation certificate in Investment Banking from IIM Indore.
Nikhil has a penchant for American food, and especially enjoys Tex-Mex cuisine. He also likes reading literature on startups and binge-watching TV shows.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Global Energy Alliance for People
- Venture Partner
Ravi Venkatesan is the Chairman of The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), launched at COP26 with USD 10 billion of committed capital to accelerate investment in green energy transitions and renewable energy solutions.
He is also UNICEF's Special Representative for Young People and Innovation and the Founder of the Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME). He serves on the Boards of Rockefeller Foundation and Hitachi Ltd. Ravi was earlier the Chairman of Microsoft India, Bank of Baroda, and Cummins India. He also served as a co-chairman of Infosys Ltd.
Ravi is a recipient of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay's Distinguished Alumnus Award and Purdue University's Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award. He was voted one of India's best management thinkers by Thinkers50 and Microsoft's Alumni Hero 2020.
Ravi has a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Bombay, an MS from Purdue University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
He is the author of "Conquering the Chaos: Win in India, Win Everywhere," published by Harvard Business Review.
Srikrishna (or Sri as the office fondly calls him) focuses on sourcing exceptional entrepreneurs with compelling business ideas to invest in.