Bikayi, a mobile-commerce enabler, has raised $10.8 million in a Series-A funding round, led by Sequoia Capital India. In August last year, the startup had raised $2 million as a part of its seed round led by Y Combinator.
Aiming at scaling product offerings, Bikayi plans to use the funds to accelerate product development, acquisition, and talent hiring.
“With its merchant base growing at 5x over the last eight months, Bikayi’s annual Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) has grown 1800% alongside. The company currently has more than 4 million+ registered users on the platform,” it said, adding that it is helping small businesses sell products across India and stand tall in the constantly evolving online commerce industry.
Sonakshi Nathani, co-founder and CEO, Bikayi, said, “Our vision is to empower every small business to win in the emerging online market by providing them with affordable tools, helping them achieve unimaginable goals.”
Founded in 2019 by IIITians Sonakshi Nathani and Ashutosh Singla, Bikayi enables small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) scale up on digital platforms, helping them reach a wider audience. The platform provides businesses with a digital storefront, professional features, and tools to help them grow. Some of the features include a dedicated business coach, catalogue listing, shipping facility, payments, and also insights on customer behaviour to manage their e-commerce stores through a single platform.
“India is on the cusp of an e-commerce revolution, and we believe small and medium businesses will play a pivotal role in shaping this landscape over the next decade. India is home to over 75 million SMBs, which account for over 30% of India’s GDP, employ over 130 million, and form the backbone of the economy,” said Shraeyansh Thakur, Vice President, Sequoia Capital India, adding that rapid digitization of SMBs and deepening of the e-commerce ecosystem are huge trends in India and Bikayi is building a next-gen product that sits at the confluence of both these trends, integrating the entire infrastructure of commerce onto one single platform.
This article was first published on livemint.com