BigBasket Lands $150M In Fresh Funding

In a new round of funding led by Dubai-based Abraaj Group, online grocer BigBasket has rounded up a mammoth sum of $150M (~INR 1,000 crore). The delivery service is looking to expand strengthen its existing service in order to overthrow competition.

Fresh Funds

Fresh investors International Finance Corporation and US-based Sands Capital as well as existing backers Bessemer Venture Partners, Helion Advisors, Zodius Capital and Ascent Capital invested in BigBasket in the latest funding round, which was implemented in multiple segments over the past seven months.

According to an investor, the company raised the sum after being evaluated for about $500M, which makes BigBasket India’s most valuable enterprise focusing on a specific category in the ecommerce space.

Fund Allocation

“We have a unique opportunity to build one of the largest grocery businesses in the country, whether offline or online,” said VS Sudhakar, a cofounder of BigBasket. Hari Menon, CEO at BigBasket, said the company’s strength lay in its supply chain integration for its fresh fruits and vegetables segment, where competitors like Snapdeal-backed PepperTap and Grofers face hurdles because of their reliance on local stores.

BigBasket disclosed that the funds raised will be used to fueled the company’s expansion in existing markets and into smaller cities across India, scale up its recently launched express delivery and specialty store business, along with increasing its product range. The company expects gross merchandise value, or gross sales excluding discounts and promotions, of $300 million for 2015-16.

In the past few months, the Indian consumer has seen a massive rise in the grocery ecommerce sphere. With Grofers, AskMe, PepperTap and many more playing the field, BigBasket really needed this round of funding.

“As India moves towards organized retailers that offer standardised quality, comfort and speed in the shopping experience, we look forward to guiding BigBasket in its next phase of development,” said Omar Lodhi, Partner and Head of Asia for Abraaj Group.

Source: Economic Times