Start-ups in India have been on a roll this year, with many of them entering the unicorn club. And marching way ahead is social commerce platform, Meesho. With strong backing from Facebook Inc and SoftBank, the company has raised $570 million, in a funding round led by Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital group and Fidelity Management and Research Company.
New investor companies -Footpath Ventures, Trifecta Capital and Good Capital have also invested in Meesho and current investors Prosus Ventures , Facebook Inc and SoftBank Vision fund also participated in this round of funding.
The company, founded by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, both IIT graduates, is now valued at $4.9 billion. This social commerce marketplace for unbranded products, claims to have employed over 13 million small businessmen and women, serving almost 45 million customers in India. The company recorded an almost four-fold rise in its operating revenue in 2020 as compared to 2019. However, even its annual losses tripled in 2020, in comparison with its preceding year.
The company had raised $300 million in April. The then funding was led by SoftBank Vision fund. Since then it claimed to have seen a 2.5 times growth in order volume. They have also added other product categories like automotive accessories and pet supplies.
Bengaluru based company, Meesho is also looking forward to expand into the groceries and fast-moving consumer goods market with the brand name Farmiso. The target of the company is to reach 100 million monthly transactions by December 2022 and the funds availed by this, will be used to invest in newer technology, and also include more than 50 million products under its product offering.
