Instamojo closes Pre-Series C funding round from Japanese investors

By Edil Corneille

Instamojo announced the closing of its Pre-Series-C funding round of an undisclosed sum. The round saw the participation of Japanese investors Base and existing investors such as Gunosy Capital, who participated in the Series B round in January 2019. The funds raised will be used to expedite the company’s growth and product roadmap as well as venture into international markets in the coming year.

Instamojo began its journey in the FinTech space with its flagship product – the online payment link, thereby solving the digital payments challenge for several entrepreneurs. Focused on empowering the Indian MSME sector, the company recently acquired GetMeAShop (GMAS), an e-commerce enablement firm backed by Times Internet which helps small businesses establish an online presence and run a store.

With this funding, the company aims to take its presence to a global level and become a global e-commerce enabler for small businesses.

Akash Gehani, Co-Founder & COO, Instamojo said, “Covid-19 has accelerated the momentum with a lot of small businesses wanting to come online. Early this year, we ramped up our commerce product by acquiring GetMeAShop (GMAS) which came with an entire suite of products in the e-commerce enablement space, an area which we will be heavily focusing on in the days to come. The idea is to help every small business establish an online presence – be it collecting payments, logistics, or even establishing the business online. With Pre-Series C round of funding, we are poised to invest in these growing areas, and continue on the path of sustainable business development.”

Founded in 2012 by Sampad Swain, Akash Gehani and Aditya Sengupta, Instamojo secured their Series B funding of INR 500 million, early last year. The company recently turned cash-flow positive, with an all-time high GMV of INR 20 billion. In recent months, Instamojo introduced easy ways of going digital through their ‘Priority KYC’, ‘Sachet loans on Whatsapp’ and ‘InstaCash’ features which enabled merchants to go online and get instant access to loans. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company recorded a 30 per cent rise in their merchant-base.

Focused towards empowering the MSMEs of India, Instamojo provides services ranging from digital payments, logistics to lending.