Ankiti Bose, the co-founder of fashion e-commerce platform Zilingo, is all set to become the first Indian woman CEO of a unicorn, reported The Times of India.

The development emerged after the four-year-old startup was valued at about $970 million in its latest round, reported ToI, citing sources. This, the report added, would make Bose, who graduated from St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, the first Indian female co-founder and CEO of a high-valued startup venture.

Bose’s startup, based at Singapore, collected $226 million in the latest round from venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, the report said.

As per the report, the startup has racked up a total $306 million in form of funding.

“Personally, a lot of men have been very helpful to me in my journey. But of course, if you have more women in venture capital and more female entrepreneurs, then things will get a lot better,” Bose was quoted as saying in the report.

The achievement of Bose gains even more significance given the limited support that is received by startups that are led by women in the region. As per the report, Last year, India ranked at 52 on the 57-country list of Mastercard Index for Women Entrepreneurs.

First Published:Feb 13, 2019 10:51 AM IST