Medical supplies startup Medikabazaar founder Vivek Tiwari out after PwC finds financial discrepancies

Mumbai-based B2B startup for medical supplies Medikabazaar founder and CEO Vivek Tiwari is stepping down after the UK-based accounting firm PwC found inconsistencies in the revenue recognition process and multiple governance issues.

According to reports, PwC auditors discovered that the gross merchandise value had been inflated by at least 60%.

The company's board is currently finalising a new chief executive officer (CEO) as Tiwari will move to a non-operating role on the board. Another co-founder, Ketan Malkanal, who also serves on the board, transitioned out of the CFO's role last year. 

Following this, Raman Chawla, a finance veteran who has worked at Campus Activewear and Reckitt Benckiser, was appointed as the chief financial officer (CFO).

"The review found certain weaknesses and deficiencies in internal controls and processes. Following the review, the company has further strengthened its internal control mechanisms and also reinforced the executive team with senior additions. The board continues to work with the management to bring any additional changes to processes and systems that that may be warranted in a high-growth business such as Medikabazaar,” a spokesperson told ET.

Backed by notable investors

So far, the startup has raised around $194 million from investors, including Lighthouse Funds, Creaegis, CDC Group, Kois Invest, Rebright Partners, MSIVC, The Catalytic Impact Foundation (CIF), and Ackermans & van Haaren.

Notably, Medikbazaar was valued at $650 million when it raised $65 million in funding in April 2022. 

Recent appointments

Ravishankar Gopalakrishnan was named as the chief operating officer (COO) of Medikabazaar in April 2024.

According to information sourced from the corporate affairs ministry, Gopalakrishnan and CFO Raman Chawla were appointed to the company's board of directors in May this year.

Gopalakrishnan was previously the acting CEO at Jet Airways and a senior executive at GE Healthcare. Pinak Shrikande of HealthQuad, Nitish Bandi of Creaegis and Ackerman’s ​​Jens Van Nieuwenborgh are among other board members.