E97: Shalini Chhabra (Managing Partner, 3i Partners)

The Desi VC: Indian Venture Capital | Angel Investors | Startups | VC

Shalini Chhabra is the Managing Partner at 3i (Impact India Investments) Partners, a Silicon Valley-based Impact Fund with the objective of supporting enterprises looking to solve some of the most pressing challenges faced by India's lower-income millions.

She is a seasoned Banker with over two decades of experience in Credit Risk Management. She has managed diverse portfolios including Large Corporate, Inter-bank, SME, Financial Institutions including Mutual Funds and Insurance, Government / PSUs, and Structured Finance including Supply Chain Financing, Factoring, Securitisation, Inter-bank Participation etc. She has also managed Risk Policy and processes, Basel Implementation and Development of Risk models for PD estimation for HDFC Bank.
She is huge proponent of gender equality, and currently mentors young students with AFH (“Aspire for Her”), hoping to bring about the change in perspective and reduce, if not eliminate the various self-limiting reasons for success by Women.

Prior to becoming a VC, Shalini was also an experienced angel in the impact space, primarily looking at livelihoods creation at the Bottom of the Pyramid.

Episode notes:

1. Career in banking (3:34)

2. Learning from the banking sector that Shalini has carried over to VC (6:25)

3. Framework for risk appetite (18:05)

4. What has Shalini learned about herself as a result of her work in banking and venture capital? (28:42)

5. Shalini discusses what it takes to be a fund manager and success frameworks for operators (44:50)

6. Shalini's professional career (58:50)

7. Shalini's views on investing in personas (1:05:24)

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