Success Editor Team
Ankiti Bose, the co-founder of Zilingo, is a name that resonates strongly within the global startup and fashion-tech ecosystem. As a young and dynamic entrepreneur, she has broken numerous stereotypes, especially for women in technology and business. Her journey from being a finance analyst to founding a multi-million-dollar tech company has inspired a new generation of female leaders and entrepreneurs across Asia.
Early Life and Education
Ankiti Bose was born in India and pursued her education at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, where she studied economics and mathematics. She began her career in the corporate world, working as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company and later with Sequoia Capital India. It was during her time at Sequoia that she identified a massive gap in the Southeast Asian fashion industry — the lack of digital platforms for small and medium businesses.
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The Birth of Zilingo
In 2015, at just 23 years old, Ankiti co-founded Zilingo along with Dhruv Kapoor, a software engineer she met at a party in Bangalore. The vision was clear: to democratize fashion by giving small sellers, especially in Southeast Asia, a platform to reach wider audiences through digital tools and supply chain solutions.
Zilingo started as a fashion e-commerce platform but quickly evolved into a B2B platform offering logistics, financing, analytics, and sourcing services to fashion merchants. Ankiti’s strategy focused on empowering the backbone of the industry — manufacturers and small retailers — by streamlining the supply chain and improving access to global markets.
Breaking Barriers in Tech and Business
What set Ankiti Bose apart was not just her age but her bold ambition to build a tech-driven solution in a highly fragmented industry. In an environment where female founders are often underrepresented and underfunded, Ankiti secured over $300 million in funding for Zilingo from major investors like Sequoia Capital, Temasek Holdings, and others.
Under her leadership, Zilingo expanded operations across eight countries, including Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, and grew to serve thousands of vendors and businesses.
Challenges and Controversy
In 2022, Zilingo faced internal scrutiny and governance challenges, and Ankiti Bose was suspended pending an investigation. While the situation drew media attention, it also sparked conversations about transparency, gender bias in leadership, and the challenges faced by young founders in scaling rapidly growing startups.
Despite the controversy, Ankiti remains a significant figure in the Asian startup ecosystem. Her story highlights the complexities of leading innovation at scale and the resilience required to build and manage a global enterprise.
Conclusion
Ankiti Bose’s journey as the co-founder of Zilingo is both inspiring and instructive. From identifying a market need to building a tech company from scratch, she exemplifies the spirit of modern entrepreneurship. Her impact on the fashion-tech industry and women in business continues to be felt, making her a role model for aspiring entrepreneurs across the globe.
