Imagine being in Deepinder Goyal’s shoes about a year ago. As the lockdowns kicked in, food-delivery orders on Zomato plunged by about 80%. The more profitable dining-out business, Zomato Gold, came to a standstill as restaurants pulled down their shutters. And delivery executives, the backbone of the company, were fleeing back to their towns and villages.

Then in April, the government made it mandatory for companies to get its approval for investments from neighboring countries. For Zomato, this meant the $100 million it was expecting from its largest shareholder at the time—China’s Ant Financial—was stuck. Ant Financial owned a 26% stake in Zomato following its $410 million investment in the company in 2018. 

For Goyal, who had launched the company in 2008 as Foodiebay to scan and post restaurant menus online, things may not have looked worse.