European venture capital and advisory firm Ennea Capital Partners has appointed former Ofo India director of public policy and communications Rajarshi Rakesh Sahai as a partner with immediate effect.
In a statement, Ennea said that Sahai has joined as a partner for the firm’s mobility division and that he will work from Amsterdam and India to cover European and Indian markets.
Ennea founder and general partner Jan Valentin said the hire was in line with its 2019 global growth strategy of expanding its presence into the Indian market.
“The company has a unique opportunity to build a perspective on the trends shaping the Indian market, the value proposition for the automobile industry in India,” Ennea said of its launch in the country. It added that its goal is to support companies in building and growing products in the mobility segment.
Sahai, an Indian School of Business graduate, has more than 14 years of experience in segments such as urban planning, smart cities and sustainable transport.
At Ofo, the Chinese bike-sharing firm whose India assets were acquired by homegrown company Bounce last year, Sahai was responsible for business development with local governments as well as communications and public relations and securing partnerships with other stakeholders.
Prior to that, he was the executive director for Trafi Application Pvt. Ltd, the India subsidiary of Trafi.com, the UK-based mobility solutions provider. His work involved building the company’s India business as well as its marketing, operations and partnerships with governments and private-sector players.
Apart from sitting on the boards of mobility-as-a-service companies such as VMC.AI, he has also helped in developing smart city frameworks for consultancy firms such as Infosys Consulting Ltd and ICF Consulting Services.
Ennea was founded in 2016 by Valentin, who was previously the chief executive officer at Travel24.com and the managing director for Kayak Europe. The venture capital and advisory firm says it will support entrepreneurs in Europe and Asia with proven business models and strong technological backing.