Meesho has announced today that it has raised $300 million in the latest funding round led by Softbank. The latest funding has helped social commerce platform to reach a total valuation of $2.1 billion. Meesho is on a mission to bring all small businesses online.
Details about the Latest Funding Round of Meesho
In a series E funding round led by Softbank, Meesho has collected a total of $300 million funds. Existing investors like Facebook, Prosus Ventures, Shunwei Capital, Venture Highway, and Knollwood Investment also actively contributed in the latest round. The startup completed the D round of funding in 2019 and it helped the company to surge its market valuation to approximately $700 million. Meesho has raised a total of $490 million till now in different funding events.
Everyone was surprised with the involvement of Shunwei Capital in the latest funding round. At a time, when Indian companies are exiting the Chinese investors from the investments, Meesho welcomed Shunwei. Indian Authorities have applied strict rules for Chinese investors. If an Indian company wants to raise funds from a Chinese investor, it should take clearance from the concerned authorities before taking a check from such investors.
Recently, the Koo app was heavily criticised for raising funds from Shunwei Capital. Later, the Shunwei has exited from the Koo App after selling its stake to the existing investors.
Meesho is a Bangalore based social commerce platform that connects sellers with buyers through social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. Meesho provides major services like order management, taking care of logistics, online payments, real-time shop updates, and allowing businesses to get their customers to subscribe.
Meesho has a network of 13 million entrepreneurs. Most of these entrepreneurs are women. It has a strong geographical presence in 5000+ cities and towns. It has a strong network of 1 lakh suppliers that largely deal with grocery, apparel, home appliances and electronics items.
What is the Future of Social Commerce Platform Meesho?
When asked about the fund investment, Vidit Aatrey, Co-founder and CEO of Meesho, said:
“In the last one year, we have seen tremendous growth across small businesses and entrepreneurs seeking to move their businesses online.”
In an official statement, Meesho Spokesperson revealed that it will deploy the fresh capital to help 100 million individuals and small businesses in the country to sell online.
During the lockdown, Meesho launched Farmiso that helps individuals to start an online grocery business without investment.
Aatrey said that Farmiso has become an instant hit product among the users. The company also tried to expand its business in Southeast Asia but could not scale further due to different limitations.
Softbank, the major investor of Meesho, has shown immense trust in the startup. Talking about the latest investment, Softbank Partner Sumer Juneja said:
“We have been closely tracking Meesho for the last 18 months and have been impressed by their growth, daily engagement metrics, focus on unit economics and ability to create a strong team. We believe Meesho provides an efficient platform for SME suppliers and social resellers to onboard the e-commerce revolution in India and help them provide a personalized experience to consumers.”
In recent research, UBS analysts have revealed that social commerce and B2B firms are the major competition for e-commerce giants like Flipkart and Amazon.
Munish Varma, the Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said:
“Globally, SoftBank has always been excited to back founders that provide unique solutions for the local market. By using the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning, Meesho has created a platform for many small business owners to sell to the next cohort of internet users. We look forward to being a part of this journey.”
