Bangalore headquartered Social e-commerce company Meesho said on Thursday that Fidelity Management & Research Company and B Capital Group, along with existing investors Prosus Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Facebook have poured a total of $570 million in its Series F fundraising round, making the valuation manifold to $4.9 billion in less than five months.
Footpath Ventures, Trifecta Capital, Good Capital also contributed to the fundraising.
Meesho claims that in the five months since its last round of investment, it has seen a 2.5x increase in order volume and has introduced a variety of additional product categories to its portfolio, including sports and fitness, pet supplies, and vehicle accessories. The firm plans to expand into India’s neglected markets, aiming to become the preferred e-commerce destination for the country’s next billion consumers.
“The next wave of growth in India’s digital consumerism will undoubtedly come from Bharat. We’ve always focused our efforts on enabling entrepreneurs from Tier 2+ markets to expand their business and in turn uplift small economic pockets in the country. The new round brings us a step closer to realising our mission to democratise internet commerce for all, increase regional participation in the digital economy, and add momentum to local businesses,” Vidit Aatrey, Founder & CEO, Meesho said.
He further said that the participation of Fidelity Management & Research Company and B Capital Group has contributed to boosting the confidence in the company’s efforts. “We will continue to invest in talent to build best-in-class tech and product solutions, while focusing on growth and furthering our efforts in scaling our online grocery business, Farmiso. I am confident we will continue to chart new milestones as we enable online success for every Indian business,” Aatrey added.
India’s unorganised retail industry, worth $792 billion, is poised for the next wave of growth. Digitization is empowering quick expansion and aiding wider reach across the country.
Meesho plans to use the proceeds to grow its technical and product expertise by 2.5x, expand its product roster to 50+ million goods, and become the platform of choice for customers, entrepreneurs, and sellers from throughout India by December 2022. Farmiso (Meesho Grocery), Meesho’s community group buying company, is also seeking to extend its grocery and FMCG services to 200+ cities. It would be the exclusive platform that aims to make online grocery shopping affordable for Tier 2+ markets across India, enabling them to shop from a wide selection of groceries for as low as $1-2.
“We have evaluated e-commerce opportunities across emerging markets and are excited about Meesho’s focus on strong unit economics and a consumer-first approach. We are excited to partner with Meesho and its exceptional team that is democratising e-commerce for a billion internet users across the country. Meesho’s business model has an incredibly compelling value proposition with entrepreneurs, end customers, and suppliers consolidating on one platform. It has rapidly emerged as a leading player in this space. Meesho is now enabling 100 million SMBs across tier 2+ cities, empowering them to sell online, leveraging its digital commerce platform,” said Kabir Narang, Founding General Partner at B Capital Group.
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