Samir Bhatia

Founder & Chairman

Veteran of Wholesale and Retail Banking with 30+ years of experience in leadership roles.Founding team member of HDFC Bank – built USD 4.1 Bn Large and SME book and USD 1.2 Bn supply chain book.
Built the Barclays Bank retail and commercial business in India from scratch to USD 675 Mn.Established the Joint Venture for Equifax in India from scratch, including identifying local partners and acquiring RBI license.

Siddharth Parekh

Co-Founder & Senior Partner, Paragon Partners

Sid has over 20 years of work experience across the US, UK and India, a majority of which has involved investing in emerging markets.

Sid co-founded Paragon Partners in 2015, a mid-market Private Equity Fund focused on investing in high-growth businesses in India. The first fund raised in 2016 was US$120 million and has been fully invested across 8 companies. The second fund closed at around US$85 million in 2022 and has a portfolio of 5 investments to date. Prior to Paragon Partners, Sid was a Principal in the Mumbai office of Actis, a leading emerging markets Private Equity Fund with a portfolio of investments in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Sid joined Actis’ London office in 2008 and focused primarily on the Financial Services industry. Prior to Actis, Sid was an Investment Analyst at the International Finance Corporation based in Washington D.C. focusing on investing in the Global Manufacturing & Services sectors and also spent 2 years as a Consultant at the Boston Consulting Group in New York. Sid has also been an active participant in the angel investing network in India, having invested in a number of start-ups engaged in the financial technology and consumer sectors.

Sid has an MBA and Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.