Unilazer Ventures' MD Banka quits

Amit Banka, managing director of Unilazer Ventures, the venture capital fund of Ronnie Screwvala and past veteran at the UTV group, has put in his papers at the company.

Banka, currently serving the notice period at the firm was said to be exploring his options, sources said. Though Screwvala was the founder and advisor at Unilazer, Banka was responsible for asset allocation and management of funds.

On Monday, Unilazer announced it invested an undisclosed amount in the e-grocery retailer - EkStop Shop and acquired 25 per cent stake in it.

Banka declined to comment on the matter when contacted.

With Banka at the helm for the last two years, Unilazer invested Rs 100 crore in areas such as agriculture, e-commerce, education and micro housing among others.

While four have been venture investments, Screwvala has taken a similar number of bets in angel investing.

Prior to Unilazer , Banka headed corporate finance, strategy and business development for UTV Group. During his long stint at UTV, Amit oversaw fund raising through public markets, public listing and de-listing of stock in the country and overseas stock exchanges, M&As and divestments across business lines and group's global Strategy

An MBA in finance, Banka worked with Subhash Chandra's Essel group and Salora Group in corporate finance, planning and strategy.