Paytm Mall Announces its Maha Shopping Festival with special focus on MSMEs

• India’s most awaited sale to commence from October 16 to October 23
• The event will bring exciting offers from lakhs of sellers, artisans, state handloom emporiums, to millions of customers
• Discounts of up to 80 percent on mobile & accessories, electronics, fashion, home as well as assured cashback on all purchases
• Exciting offers on ICICI credit, debit cards, EMI transactions

India's homegrown e-commerce O2O (Offline to Online) platform Paytm Mall (owned by Paytm Ecommerce Private Limited) which is empowering SMEs across the country with e-commerce services, today announced its Maha Shopping Festival from October 16 to October 23. This festive season the company will be showcasing millions of products from MSMEs, Made in India brands, government-run emporiums along with top deals from the best international brands in fashion, lifestyle, electronics & home categories.

This year's Maha Shopping Festival would be bigger than ever with over 5,500 brands participating in the event. The company said that it would be accepting orders from all pin-codes across India. Over the last several months, Paytm Mall has been adding capacity and has brought in hundreds of MSMEs, Made in India Brands who will launch new products across categories during the event.

According to the company, several cottage emporiums, artisans, and women entrepreneurs will showcase unique products such as handmade jewellery, Benarasi & Kanjivaram sarees, hand-stitched Kurtas, ethnic wear from different states, as well as home & kitchen decor. Paytm Mall is offering free shipping on over 1.5 lakh products.

Paytm Mall said that during the eight-day long celebrations, shoppers with have the opportunity to find the best deals during a Flash Sale between 11 AM to 3 PM on high-demand products with prices exclusive to the platform. In addition to these, customers can also explore Deals of the Day, combos under Rs 999 & Rs 499 store to get the best value for money shopping experience this festive season.

The company is offering discounts of up to 80% on mobile & accessories, electronics, fashion, home & kitchen essentials as well as giving an additional up to 20% Paytm cashback on all products. There will also be an extra 10% cashback up to Rs.3000 on ICICI Bank Credit, Debit cards & EMI transactions. Paytm Mall has partnered with ICICI Bank as part of ICICI's Festive Bonanza offering cashback across all shopping products.

Abhishek Rajan, COO, Paytm Mall said, "Every year we set out to deliver the best possible shopping experience to our consumers as well as a successful sale season to lakhs of sellers. This year we want to empower thousands of MSMEs, artisans, Indian brands to leverage on our digital commerce platform as a potent distribution channel and give their consumers the best buying experience. We are bringing the best deals possible so that our users are not constrained by budget to celebrate and spread the festive cheer."

Over the last several months, the company has seen over 2X growth in sales in categories including groceries, consumer durables, work from home essentials, grooming electronics, toys, and kidswear among others

Paytm Mall announces its weeklong Freedom Sale, focus on SMEs and Make In India brands

The sale happening between August 11 to August 17, discounts ranging from 10 percent to 80 percent on 200 plus brands

- SMEs, Make in India brands, local artisans to be promoted during the event- Deals on electronics, storage devices, fashion brands Van Heusen, Allen Solly, RedTape, Puma, ethnic wear from BIBA, W 

New Delhi, 12th August 2020: Paytm Mall (owned by Paytm Ecommerce Private Limited), which is redefining the e-commerce space in India with its unique O2O (Offline to Online) model, announced the successful launch of its Freedom Sale between August 11 to August 17. Special focus this Independence Day sale would be on SMEs and Make in India brands that would be extensively promoted during the weeklong event.

The company said that over 200 SMEs and start-ups are launching more than 500 new products across 20 different categories. More than 10,000 offline shop owners, including Kirana stores, have taken part in the sale and are fulfilling customer orders. 

Paytm Mall said that sellers and brands on the platform are offering discounts between 10% & 80% on various products in different categories including mobile phones, assorted accessories, electronics, home, and kitchen, work from home items, fashion, & electronics. Also, customers will be eligible for 10% additional cashback if the product is purchased using ICICI Bank Credit Card, ICICI Credit Card EMI Transactions & Net Banking on minimum order of Rs 3000. 

According to the company, several cottage emporiums, artisans, and women entrepreneurs would be showcasing unique products such as handmade jewellery, including Benarasi and Kanjivaram sarees, hand-stitched Kurtas, ethnic wear from different states, home & kitchen decor would all be sold on the platform. 

Abhishek Rajan, COO, Paytm Mall said, "This Independence Day we want to reach out to a large number of SMEs, artisans, Indian brands and empower them to leverage digital commerce as a potent distribution channel. In the post COVID world having the ability to sell products online will help these sellers and manufacturers grow and expand their business. Our Freedom Sale also hopes to reignite consumer buying sentiment with the best in category deals and seamless e-commerce experience. During the last few months, we have seen a 2X increase in sales on our platform, we hope that this event would push it further."

The company has seen over 2X growth in sales in categories including groceries, consumer durables, work from home essentials, grooming electronics, toys, and kidswear among others. 

Paytm Mall Moves Operations to Bengaluru, Appoints Abhishek Rajan as COO

• Set to recruit 300 people for product & technology roles


• Reduces quarterly losses from $17million to $2million during the last financial year

Paytm Mall (owned by Paytm Ecommerce Private Limited), which is redefining the e-commerce space in India with its unique O2O (Offline to Online) model, today announced the appointment of Abhishek Rajan as the new Chief Operating Officer of the company. During the last four years, Abhishek (an IIM-Ahmedabad Alum) has built and scaled up Paytm's Travel business driving large revenues for the company at a positive contribution margin. Paytm Mall is also moving its operations from Noida (Uttar Pradesh) to Bengaluru and plans to hire over 300 new members for product & technology roles aiming expansion across its business categories. This will help the company tap into the rich talent pool available in the city’s consumer internet and startup ecosystem. The existing workforce has the flexibility to either shift to Bengaluru or continue working from their current location in various roles. Additionally, Srinivas Mothey has been elevated to Senior Vice President Merchants Solutions at Paytm. He would be working on innovative retail solutions for merchants in his new role.

In his new role, Abhishek will set the vision for Mall and oversee the operations across categories, products, technology, supply chain, marketing and finance. He will specifically focus on strengthening the commerce customer experience and expanding the hyperlocal merchant base, thereby enabling more Kirana stores to be part of the digital commerce journey. He will continue to oversee Paytm's travel vertical till the time a new business head is appointed.

With a sharp focus on profitability, Paytm Mall has significantly reduced its quarterly cash burn from $17 million to $2 million during the last financial year. Paytm Mall currently offers a wide assortment of products across Mobile, Computers, Apparel, Footwear, Consumer Electronics, Home Appliances, Health & Fitness, and General Merchandise. It has partnered with BigBasket for the supply of groceries on its platform.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder & CEO - Paytm said, "I am very happy to see the way Abhishek has built and led the travel business for us. In the post-COVID world, we want to bring commerce to even more customers and serve the SMEs across the country. We are well-capitalized, have a great team, and a massive network of customers to make our O2O model penetrate further in India. I am confident Abhishek will take Paytm Mall to new heights."

Abhishek Rajan, COO - Paytm Mall said, "We would like to think of Paytm’s e-commerce business as a Series A startup with $200 Mn cash in the bank, where key technology and operations components required for running a commerce business have already been built. In the last 3 quarters, the team has done an incredible job of bringing down the cash burn to $2 Mn/quarter. There cannot be a better starting line for us, as we look ahead to scale the business in a profitable manner."

eBay in Talks to Invest $170 Mn in PayTM Mall

US-based online marketplace giant eBay has begun talks to lead a $160-$170 million strategic investment in Paytm Mall, as it looks to explore an offline-to-online commerce and payments strategy in India, reported several media outlets including Economic Times.

The report says that in December last year, Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma had already secured the board’s approval to bring in a new strategic investor as the firm did not expect a fresh capital infusion from existing investors Alibaba and SoftBank.

eBay is likely to announce about this investment next month which would be eBay's third investment in India post Flipkart and Snapdeal.

eBay will continue to run its independent online portal in India.

Last year in May, when US retail giant Walmart acquired Flipkaart for $16-billion eBay had then exited its investment in Flipkart for about $1.1 billion. Prior to which, in 2017 eBay had sold its India operations to Flipkart and took a minority stake in the Indian e-commerce firm.

At the time of exiting Flipkart, eBay reportedly held a 6.55% stake in Flipkart and holds about 5% stake in Snapdeal.

Ebay has been looking to invest in e-commerce ever since it sold its stake in Flipkart as the company believes India is a significant and growing market.

Last year, eBay also announced its plans to relaunch its India operations. Paytm Mall, which competes with Flipkart and Amazon in the e-commerce space in India, had raised about Rs 1,500 crore from Japan’s SoftBank Group and existing investor Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in June last year, as part of the Rs3,000 crore funding commitment that was initially announced in April. The investment had then reportedly valued Paytm Mall between $1.6 billion and $2 billion.

Later in same month, Flipkart announced that it will now launch a new platform to sell pre-owned goods by refurbishing them, in an attempt to tap into the market of pre-owned goods, which as of now, is largely unorganized.

PayTM Mall on Verge of Buying Majority Stake in BigBasket

Paytm Mall, Paytm’s e-commerce platform, is close to pick up a majority stake in online grocery provider BigBasket. The companies are very close to finalize the deal anytime soon, reported Business Standard citing unknown sources.

Both PayTM and BigBasket are portfolio companies of Alibaba. Alibaba invested $200 million in BigBasket in February this year, while for PayTM the Jack Ma founded firm is already one of the biggest investors, thus it could play an important role in BigBasket's acquisition by Paytm Mall.

It is to be noted IndianWeb2 could not verify the report however the pattern suggested that PayTM is indeed interested in BigBasket. In September last year, it was reported that BigBasket could raise Series-E round of funding from investors including Paytm Mall and Alibaba. Eventually in February, the Alibaba invested in BigBasket without any participation from PayTM Mall.

IF the acquisition deal goes through, it will not only give Alibaba a greater hold over India's e-commerce market, which is dominated by the likes of Flipkart and Amazon but will also help both Paytm and BigBasket consolidate revenue through repeat customers.

A report published in Business Standard quoted sources saying that Paytm Mall and BigBasket are discussing the deal, which is in the fast track. But talks are stuck as BigBasket wants the company to be valued 'premium', and also seeks a seat on the Paytm Mall board.

The BigBasket acquisition reports are coming within few days after Paytm's parent, One97 Communications, has received $300 million in fresh funding from Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Grocery retail in India is estimated to be over 60% of the country's total retail market. According to analysts, grocery retail market is worth of anywhere between $400 billion to $600 billion at present with the potential to cross $700 billion by 2022. Online grocery is still small, but analysts see it as having huge potential.

Growing e-commerce industry and increasing internet penetration coupled with increasing smartphone users to increase online grocery sales in India through 2021.

In April, it was reported that ​Nasper-backed online food ordering & delivery startup Swiggy is also planning to launch a medicines and grocery delivery service, as it looks to diversify its business model and boost volume beyond just food ordering.

PayTM Mall on Verge of Buying Majority Stake in BigBasket

Paytm Mall, Paytm’s e-commerce platform, is close to pick up a majority stake in online grocery provider BigBasket. The companies are very close to finalize the deal anytime soon, reported Business Standard citing unknown sources.

Both PayTM and BigBasket are portfolio companies of Alibaba. Alibaba invested $200 million in BigBasket in February this year, while for PayTM the Jack Ma founded firm is already one of the biggest investors, thus it could play an important role in BigBasket's acquisition by Paytm Mall.

It is to be noted IndianWeb2 could not verify the report however the pattern suggested that PayTM is indeed interested in BigBasket. In September last year, it was reported that BigBasket could raise Series-E round of funding from investors including Paytm Mall and Alibaba. Eventually in February, the Alibaba invested in BigBasket without any participation from PayTM Mall.

IF the acquisition deal goes through, it will not only give Alibaba a greater hold over India's e-commerce market, which is dominated by the likes of Flipkart and Amazon but will also help both Paytm and BigBasket consolidate revenue through repeat customers.

A report published in Business Standard quoted sources saying that Paytm Mall and BigBasket are discussing the deal, which is in the fast track. But talks are stuck as BigBasket wants the company to be valued 'premium', and also seeks a seat on the Paytm Mall board.

The BigBasket acquisition reports are coming within few days after Paytm's parent, One97 Communications, has received $300 million in fresh funding from Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Grocery retail in India is estimated to be over 60% of the country's total retail market. According to analysts, grocery retail market is worth of anywhere between $400 billion to $600 billion at present with the potential to cross $700 billion by 2022. Online grocery is still small, but analysts see it as having huge potential.

Growing e-commerce industry and increasing internet penetration coupled with increasing smartphone users to increase online grocery sales in India through 2021.

In April, it was reported that ​Nasper-backed online food ordering & delivery startup Swiggy is also planning to launch a medicines and grocery delivery service, as it looks to diversify its business model and boost volume beyond just food ordering.

Softbank May Invest Whopping $3 Bn in Paytm Mall, Thanks To Flipkart

After selling its significant minority stake in Flipkart to Walmart, Japenese internet giant SoftBank has held early discussions to invest more in Paytm Mall, an online and mobile marketplace and a subsidiary of One97 Communications' Paytm brand, which also counts Chinese online commerce giant Alibaba as its investor.

Just last month, PayTM Mall has raised $450 million (~ ₹3,000 crore) in a financing round led by SoftBank along with participation from Alibaba. With that funding, Softbank took 21% stake in Paytm Mall.

Now, as a matter of fact, Softbank could now invest more in Paytm Mall as post Walmart-Flipkart deal the Japanese firm could now set itself free from a clause in its agreement with Flipkart that restricts it from investing more than $500 million in Paytm Mall until 2020. So now, Softbank has held talks to invest as much as $3 billion in the Paytm Mall, reported Economic Times, citing a unknown person privy to this development.

However, in a catch of this speculation, Softbank can invest in Paytm Mall only if it finalized its exit from Flipkart. Notably, if SoftBank sells its 22.3% stake in Flipkart to Walmart now or any time before August 2019 then according to India's capital gain tax law it may have to give 40% (of profit) as short-term capital gain tax to the Indian taxman, which a massive $600 million.

SoftBank is undecided on selling its Flipkart shares because of tax implications and also because it sees a further increase in valuation for Flipkart.

SoftBank Vision Fund invested about $2.5 billion in Flipkart in August last year after a failed attempt to orchestrate a merger with Snapdeal, which was its first bet in the Indian online retail space in 2014.

To lower its tax liability from 40% to 10%, it would need to hold the shares in Flipkart till August 2019 at the very least, which doesn't look a plausible situation after, at least for now.

The Japanese company had invested about $900 million in Snapdeal in a hope that the home grown e-tailer would be able to challenge Flipkart’s market leadership, but saw the company slip to a distant third behind Amazon India by 2016.

Speaking about PayTM mall, the online marketplace, which primarily on its online-to-offline (O2O) model, had a market share of about 5.6% in 2017, its first full year of operations, with gross merchandise volume, or gross sales, of about $1 billion, according to Forrester Research. Flipkart Group, including online fashion retailers Myntra and Jabong, had a combined market share of 39.1%, and Amazon India, 31.1%.

Led by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Paytm Mall has been quietly encroaching the Indian e-commerce market, replacing Snapdeal as the third-largest player after Flipkart and Amazon India. The company ended fiscal year 2017-18 with annualized GMV of $3 billion and is targeting an ambitious $10 billion in annualized GMV by the end of this fiscal year.

Via - Madhav Chanchani @Economic Times

PayTM Mall May Raise $600 Mn At Valuation of $2 Bn

The e-commerce arm of India's payment giant PayTM -- PayTM Mall, is expected to raise $600 million from Japan's Softbank, reported Economic Times lately.

The funding deal of Paytm Mall with SoftBank is in advance stages right now and is expected to close by end of this month, said the report.

The latest round, if materializes, is expected to value PayTM Mall at about $2 billion.

Moreover, the startup is also in talks with Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and China’s Primavera Capital Group to raise another ₹1000 Crore, as it gears up to take on other e-commerce players in India such as Amazon and Flipkart. Existing investor SAIF Partners is also expected to participate in the upcoming funding round.

If the deal goes through, this will Softbank’s third bet in the online retail market, after backing Snapdeal in 2014 and Flipkart in 2017.

At present, Chinese ecommerce Alibaba and its payment affiliate Ant Financial hold a majority stake of about 55% in Paytm Mall. Post the upcoming Softbank funding, combined shareholding of Alibaba and Ant Financial is expected to get diluted to a significant minority.

It to be noted that both Primavera and Temasek, which are also poised to invest in PayTM Mall, have invested in multiple Alibaba Group companies, including Alibaba and Ant Financial.

Paytm Mall is rapidly expanding and is fast bringing in more FMCG brands on its platform and getting into hyperlocal tie-ups with grocers to increase its logistics. In April 2017, it launched O2O commerce platform to enable shopkeepers sell their products using PayTM QR code. The startup also invested $35 million in tech and logistics, in last August.

Last October, the startup reported that it suffered loss of Rs13.63 crore on total sales of Rs7.35 crore in the year ended 31 March 2017.

To recall, in last November IndianWeb2 was among first to report that Paytm Mall had started discussions with SoftBank to raise around $500 million.

PayTM Mall May Raise $600 Mn At Valuation of $2 Bn

The e-commerce arm of India's payment giant PayTM -- PayTM Mall, is expected to raise $600 million from Japan's Softbank, reported Economic Times lately.

The funding deal of Paytm Mall with SoftBank is in advance stages right now and is expected to close by end of this month, said the report.

The latest round, if materializes, is expected to value PayTM Mall at about $2 billion.

Moreover, the startup is also in talks with Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and China’s Primavera Capital Group to raise another ₹1000 Crore, as it gears up to take on other e-commerce players in India such as Amazon and Flipkart. Existing investor SAIF Partners is also expected to participate in the upcoming funding round.

If the deal goes through, this will Softbank’s third bet in the online retail market, after backing Snapdeal in 2014 and Flipkart in 2017.

At present, Chinese ecommerce Alibaba and its payment affiliate Ant Financial hold a majority stake of about 55% in Paytm Mall. Post the upcoming Softbank funding, combined shareholding of Alibaba and Ant Financial is expected to get diluted to a significant minority.

It to be noted that both Primavera and Temasek, which are also poised to invest in PayTM Mall, have invested in multiple Alibaba Group companies, including Alibaba and Ant Financial.

Paytm Mall is rapidly expanding and is fast bringing in more FMCG brands on its platform and getting into hyperlocal tie-ups with grocers to increase its logistics. In April 2017, it launched O2O commerce platform to enable shopkeepers sell their products using PayTM QR code. The startup also invested $35 million in tech and logistics, in last August.

Last October, the startup reported that it suffered loss of Rs13.63 crore on total sales of Rs7.35 crore in the year ended 31 March 2017.

To recall, in last November IndianWeb2 was among first to report that Paytm Mall had started discussions with SoftBank to raise around $500 million.

Softbank In Talks To Lead $500 Mn Investment in PayTM Mall

PayTM has held initial talks with Japanese investment giant SoftBank for leading a $500-600 million financing round investment in its online marketplace Paytm Mall, according to a report published in Times of India.

As per the sources cited in the report, SoftBank is likely to put around $300 million into Paytm Mall, which is backed by Alibaba.

If the deal happens, it will be yet another Softbank's attempt to get hold on India's online retail market after the Japenese firm had led a whopping $2.5-billion funding at Flipkart through the gargantuan sized SoftBank Vision Fund earlier this year. The telecom and internet conglomerate is also the largest shareholder in Snapdeal, which the investor unsuccessfully tried to merge with Flipkart for a better part of this year.

To recall, PayTM had already raised $1.4 billion from SoftBank, in May this year and that was the largest funding round from a single investor for any technology startup in India. With that funding, Softbank grabbed 20% stake in One97 Communications, the parent company of PayTM.

According to a person cited in the Times of India report, he said, "The funding proposal is yet to be discussed with the company board. However, there are informal commitments that have come through from investors. They still need to set a valuation for the transaction as the initial capital from Alibaba and SAIF was an internal round." Currently, the Jack Ma-led Alibaba group holds over 50% stake in Paytm Mall, which came to life after the Noida-based One97 Communications separated its commerce and payments businesses.

To recall, Paytm Mall reported a Rs13.63 crore loss on total sales of Rs7.35 crore in the year ended 31 March 2017.

Paytm Mall is estimated to have clocked sales of around $350 million from this year's festive season sale, putting it in the third position after Amazon and Flipkart.

Paytm’s E-commerce Offering Paytm Mall Registers A Loss Of Rs 13 Crore for 2016-17

Indian e-wallet firm Paytm started the year on a high after Modi government’s sudden demonetisation surprise sprung on the citizens of the country last year came as a blessing in disguise for the firm.

Post the demonetisation announcement, India saw the popularity of its mobile payment service sector increasing by many folds. While the already existing players in the market jumped to action to cash on the opportunity, several new ones came up to get a piece of the pie.

According to RBI, digital payment companies like Paytm, MobiKwik, FreeCharge clocked PPI payments worth a whopping Rs 13 billion in value across 59 million transactions in November 2016.

In a study done earlier this year by CouponDunia, a famous coupons site, it was revealed that digital wallets like PayTM, freecharge, followed by online cab players like Ola and Uber were among the top performing categories for cashless transactions post-demonetisation. PayTM, Freecharge, Mobikwik, Dominos Pizza and Yatra were the top performing brands post the demonetisation announcement, according to the study.

However, the winning streak might have just ended for Paytm. According to filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Paytm’s e-commerce arm Paytm Mall has registered a loss of Rs 13.63 crore for the 2016-17 financial year on total sales of Rs 7.35 crore in the year that ended March 31, 2017.

The filing also revealed that the firm’s total expenditure came up at Rs 20 crore, whereas reserves and surplus totalled up for Rs 1,284 crore.

However, Paytm isn’t so worried about the flunking numbers. Speaking to Mint, a Paytm Mall spokesperson said, “These are the initial years for Paytm Mall and we have a long-term perspective on building a successful tech business.”

Paytm Mall outgrew Alibaba’s e-wallet app in August, 2016. The firm, which was under the reigns of Paytm for a total of three years, started gaining pace in February after it announced several measures focused on growth.

In July, Paytm Mall filtered over 85,000 sellers from its platform so as to raise its quality standards and revamp its platform.

[Image: Trak]

Here're 10 Top Funded Indian Startups of 2017 (Year-To-date)

We are halfway to 2017, and buzz of funding slowdown, startup shutdown, lack of innovation etc has already caught its pace. There are talks of startup bubble bursting down, but there are still some insist that the startup bubble has not burst yet. Though investors have become cautious and backed sectors that are problem-solving at a macro level, and not blindly following the e-commerce or hyperlocal buzz, India has still managed to get some of the most funded startups. 

Here is the list of most funded startup of 2017, year-to-date:

Flipkart

$1.4 Billion

In the scenario where Indian e-commerce is facing a tough time, homegrown major, Flipkart has taken over the rein of the market by becoming the third most funded private company in the world. Flipkart, an online shopping destination for India founded in 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal recently bagged $ 2.4 billion from Japanese technology and telecom giant SoftBank, making it most funded startup in India.

Flipkart’s total raised capital is now almost $7.12 billion which is higher than that raised by global giants like online house rental aggregator Airbnb ($3.3 billion) and mobile phone maker Xiaomi ($1.4 billion). If we talk about the valuation, Flipkart stands at the 9 position with about $15 billion. Prior to this in April 2017, Flipkart secured a $1.4 billion at a valuation of $11.6 billion. Flipkart managed to secure this investment at a post-money valuation of $11.6 billion from the likes of Tencent, eBay, and Microsoft. This fundraising round also witnessed participation from existing Flipkart investor, Tiger Global, Naspers, Accel and DST Global.

Before this round, the Bengaluru-based firm had last raised funds in June 2015 when existing investors led by Tiger Global Management pumped $700 million into the company, valuing it at $15 billion. By August 2015, after raising $700 million, Flipkart had already raised a total of $3 billion, over 12 rounds and 16 investors.

PayTM

$1.4 Billion

Vijay Shekhar Sharma founded PayTM has become the buzzword. It is one such company which has secured the largest funding round from a single investor. The Indian technology startup, PayTM has recently raised $1.4 billion from Japan’s SoftBank Group.

The Japanese internet and telecom major, Softbank has invested in PayTM's parent company One97 Communications, helping Noida headquartered startup to expand its user base of 220 million and build a large offering of financial services products. Post this funding One97 now valued at $7 billion.

Ola

$404 Billion

Despite bleeding losses, high employee cost, the cab-hailing firm Ola has been successful in raising a sizeable amount of funds. The startup has recently raised over Rs231 crore from Tekne Private Ventures through an issue of preference shares, reports Live Mint.  In June 2017, Ola had raised about $50 million (Rs 322 crore) from New York-based hedge fund Tekne Capital Management LLC, as part of the company’s ongoing funding round. Prior to this cab hailing app raised Rs 670 crore in a fresh round of funding from Ratan Tata’s venture fund RNT Capital Advisers LLP and US hedge fund Falcon Edge Capital LP.

Founded by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati in 2010, Ola is backed by marquee investors including SoftBank, Tiger Global and Matrix Partners. Since November 2016, Ola has raised nearly $400 million. Ola, which has a presence in over 100 Indian cities as against Uber’s operations in 29, has been aggressively ramping up its portfolio of services.

ReNew Power Ventures

$202 Million

Wind energy firm based in India, ReNew Power has recently raised around $100 million in structured credit from Piramal Capital’s structured financing group (SFG) to raise his stake in the company ahead of a proposed initial public offering (IPO), reports Live Mint.

The firm founded by Sumant Sinha is one of the largest renewable energy producers in the country has around 1.2GW of operational capacity across the wind and solar projects.

In February 2017, ReNew raised $200 million where JERA Co. Inc. bought a 10% stake in the company, valuing it at $2 billion. ReNew Power’s earlier backers include Goldman Sachs, sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Global Environment Fund.

ReNew Power’s recent debt financing transactions include a long-term $390 million debt funding from ADB, a $250 million credit line from Overseas Private Investment Corp. It also raised $475 million through masala bonds earlier this year.

In October 2015, the company raised $265 million in equity capital from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Goldman Sachs and Global Environment Fund. The round took the company’s total equity fundraising to $655 million. Goldman has invested a total of $370 million in the company.

Paytm Mall

$200 Million

After PayTM, India get gets the another unicorn in form of its e-commerce arm. Yes, PayTM e-commerce arm secured funding from Paytm’s existing investors Alibaba and SAIF Partners who have put in $177 million and $23 million respectively into Paytm Mall. Paytm has now become the only company with both payments and e-commerce businesses to be valued at billion dollars as separate entities.

Paytm Mall, owned by Paytm Ecommerce Pvt Ltd, is on a mission to become the technology partner of retailers and brands, enabling them to set up stores online.Paytm Mall is scaling its partner network by adding 3,000 agents to its existing workforce as it goes deeper into tier II and tier III cities, digitizing

Paytm Mall is scaling its partner network by adding 3,000 agents to its existing workforce as it goes deeper into tier II and tier III cities, digitizing catalogues of neighborhood shopkeepers and brands authorized stores. It will continue equipping these shopkeepers with technology by digitizing their catalogues, opening their store on its mall and making their shops QR Code-enabled. It has also extended logistics support and GST training to equip these retailers for the current business landscape. The company would also facilitate access to working capital loans, a major pain-point for every small retailer and play a critical role in their growth plans. These factors will contribute to enhancing their income and eventually lead to creating new jobs for our nation’s progress.

Greenko Group

$155 Million

Greenko Group is one of India's fastest growing Independent power producers, focusing on developing clean energy assets in India to meet India's ever increasing demand for power. In March 2017, the firm raised $155 million (Rs 1,010 crore) from existing investors Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is one of the largest fund-raising exercises in the renewable energy sector.

According to ET, Hyderabad-based Greenko last year got $230 million in new funds from an entity owned by ADIA and an affiliate of GIC Singapore at a $1 billion valuation. ADIA invested $150 million while $80 million came from GIC.

Delhivery

$138 Million

Gurgaon-based logistics company SSN Logistics Pvt Ltd, which runs the web platform Delhivery.com has managed to make its place in the list of most funded Indian startups. In May 2017, Delhivery has received $30 million (about Rs200 crore) funding from Chinese conglomerate Fosun International. According to the LiveMint report, This additional investment was a part of the bigger equity financing round where The Carlyle Group infused $100 million to pick up a minority stake in the firm.

Founded in 2011 by Sahil Barua, Mohit Tandon, and Suraj Saharan, the startup raised $85 million in a series D round led by Tiger Global Management with participation from existing investors—Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Nexus Venture Partners, and Times Internet Limited in March 2015. Prior to that, in September 2014, it had raised its series C round led by Multiples Alternate Asset Management.

Hero Future Energies

$125 Million

The renewable energy arm of the Hero Group, Hero Future Energies raised $125 billion from International Finance Corp. (IFC), the private sector investment arm of World Bank. Founded in 2012, HFE is poised to provide clean power to industries, businesses, educational institutes, non-profits and governmental organizations at competitive rates. HFE assist its clientele in fulfilling their Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPOs) by reducing their dependence on power generated by fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas.

Spandana Sphoorty Financial Limited

$100 Million

According to LiveMint, microfinance lender Spandana Sphoorty Financial Ltdin April 2017, raised $270 million of funding. Around $100 million comes in the form of equity capital from a Kedaara Capital-led consortium including Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and the rest in the form of debt capital from IndusInd Bank Ltd, Yes Bank Ltd and ICICI Bank Ltd.

Spandana Sphoorty is a Micro Finance firm headquartered at Hyderabad. It has presence pan India and has an employee base of 3500+ professionals. The company came into existence with a noble thought of upgrading the economic and social life of rural women, started by a woman for the women.

Swiggy

$80 Million

Indian food ordering and delivery platform, Swiggy raised $80 million in series-E funding in May 2017. The deal was led by Naspers, a global internet and entertainment group, and one of the world’s largest technology investors, with earlier investors Accel India, SAIF Partners India, Bessemer Venture Partners, Harmony Partners and Norwest Venture Partners participating.

Swiggy is among the best-funded food delivery startups in India. It raised at about $155 million in equity from Accel Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Harmony Partners, RB Investments, Norwest Venture Partners, SAIF Partners and Apoletto, the personal investment firm of Russian billionaire and founder of DST Global, Yuri Milner. It has also raised about $8 million in venture debt from InnoVen Capital.

Swiggy has been a forerunner in online food ordering and delivery in India, by consistently shrinking delivery times and improving customer experience.

Bigbasket Raising Whopping $280 Mn in Series E Round Led By Paytm Mall and Alibaba

India’s largest online grocery firm BigBasket is raising whopping USD$280 million in Series-E round led by Paytm Mall and China’s Alibaba Group. As a result, BigBasket’s ‘post funding’ valuation will now range between $800-900 million, making the company in close range of 'unicorn' startups.

While existing investors Sands Capital and The Abraaj Group are putting in $80 million, the remaining $200 million is coming from new investors Paytm Mall and Alibaba Group. About $50 million of the overall $200 million investment by Paytm Mall and Alibaba could be used for buying out shares in BigBasket from existing investors. As per the report, the deal has been signed off by all the parties and a formal announcement is just around the corner.

Unlike to previous speculations that Amazon might invest hugely in Bigbasket, the e-grocer has chosen Paytm-Alibaba instead.

BigBasket, which was valued at $450 million during its previous fundraising led by Dubai-based The Abraaj Group, was in discussions with Amazon for an investment but the talks reached a stalemate over various issues, including valuation.

The grocery market in India is still very scattered and very small percentage of this is organised which is why it creates lot of opportunities for e-grocer companies. In India, apart from Bigbasket e-grocery is mainly led by SoftBank-backed Grofers, ZopNow and smaller players like Amazon Now and Satvacart. And they are all ready to battle it out to get a piece of a market, which will be valued at whopping $1.2 trillion by 2020.

As for online retail, grocery accounts for a mere 4% share, show data from consulting firm Praxis Global Alliance.

Founded in 2011, Bigbasket claims to have 5 million customers and has registered about Rs 1,400 crore in revenue in fiscal year 2017.

Flipkart too has fallen for grocery lucrativeness as couple of months back the e-commerce giant had already announced that the company was considering selling groceries again.

In April, we shared how Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy at the TiE event in New Delhi revealed his company's plans of entering the grocery market in India. He had said, “Yes we will get into grocery... 80 per cent of units bought in India is grocery… $400-600 million is grocery market, so we have to get into it."

As of now, its now a three-way battle -- Amazon, which will now ride solo; Flipkart, which after failing earlier getting it restarted into grocery again; and BigBasket-Paytm-Alibaba combine.

Paytm and Alibaba's investment in BigBasket will give it enough ammunition to defend its turf, while the combine will gain an entry into the fastest-growing online retail segment.

Paytm’s E-commerce Arm Paytm Mall To Invest $35 Mn In Tech And Logistics

To Strengthen its logistic network, Paytm’s e-commerce arm, Paytm Mall is eyeing to invest $35 million in technology and infrastructure. Not only this, according to ET reports, the firm further plans to shorten its delivery timelines. Paytm Mall plans to achieve this by servicing demand with local suppliers to provide same-day and next-day deliveries in categories such as electronics and appliances across 25 cities.

The move comes after the e-commerce platform recently delisted 50 percent logistics partners and 30 courier aggregation centers to restructure their logistics network.

Commenting on the development, Amit Sinha, Chief Operating Officer, Paytm Mall said, “We aim to build a trusted and highly efficient logistics network to enable our partnered retailers to offer same-day and next-day deliveries. This will help local shopkeepers offer a more convenient shopping experience and enable brands to save up to 50% on logistics, as they will be able to bypass inter-city logistics costs.”

Launched in earlier 2017, Paytm Mall, in coming months plans to add more products and cities to provide same-day and next-day deliveries. Unlike Flipkart and Amazon, Paytm Mall does not have its own logistics arm.

Backed by Alibaba Group and SAIF Partners, the e-commerce startup is working with three national courier partners Delivery, Blue Dart, and Xpressbees. Apart from this, it has also tied up with local delivery couriers, including Shadowfax and Book a wheel, to drive the next phase of its expansion.

The e-commerce arm has recently revamped the seller onboarding process to further enhance the consumer trust on its platform. Sellers undergo strict quality and service audits that will include their registration number, shop location, shop photos, brand authorization letters and GSTIN among others in order to list their products on the platform. This criteria blocks potential fraudulent merchant from signing up and creating a bad customer experience. The company will continue partnering with reputed shopkeepers and brands, enabling them to sell on its platform

Recently in August 2017, Paytm Mall has announced to invest $5 million to address the needs of its partner. For the same, it has also introduced, Shopkeeper Inclusion Programme.

PayTM Mall Set To Invest $5 Mn To Address Needs Of Its Partner Retailers; Introduces Shopkeeper Inclusion Programme

Offline stores play an important role in the country’s retail ecosystem as it caters to the livelihood of small retailers and leads to new employment opportunities. Indian consumers prefer to shop from their neighbourhood shops owing to the trust and convenience associated with the process. However, with the advent of technology in retail, there has been an increasing trend of online retailers clashing with offline ones for market share.

Paytm Mall, owned by Paytm Ecommerce Pvt Ltd, is on a mission to become the technology partner of retailers and brands, enabling them to set up stores online. This technology is allowing shopkeepers to leverage the power of mobile and generate additional sales through the Paytm Mall platform to increase their business. It is also playing a critical role in the lives of these retail partners, helping them to enhance their retail potential.

In its interactions with shopkeepers, Paytm Mall learnt the challenges of offline retailers in competing against the onslaught from large online retail platforms. Based on their feedback, Paytm Mall has introduced a Retailer Inclusion Programme with the vision to support and empower these shopkeepers to challenge large monolithic online retailers.

Under this programme, the company will invest $5 million and has set up a dedicated team of 500 personnel to address the unique needs of these retailers. This team acts as a direct link between the company and its partner retailers, who meet them on a regular basis to receive their feedback, understand their challenges and offer necessary support for their growth. They are also conducting ‘choupal’ and acting as an active partner in their development as the company onboards more retailers and expands its footprint to every nook and corner of the country.

Commenting on the development, Amit Sinha, Chief Operating Officer – Paytm Mall said, “India does not need one large e-retailer, it needs millions of e-retailers. We stand in support of these retailers and our purpose is to support their growth. We invite shopkeepers and brands looking to build technology-integrated businesses to partner with us. We will continue engaging with our partnered retailers to build our inclusion programme and enhance their businesses. This will create new jobs and further support our nation.”

Paytm Mall will continue equipping these shopkeepers with technology by digitizing their catalogues, opening their store on its mall and making their shops QR Code-enabled. It has also extended logistics support and GST training to equip these retailers for the current business landscape. The company would also facilitate access to working capital loans, a major pain-point for every small retailer and play a critical role in their growth plans. These factors will contribute to enhancing their income and eventually lead to creating new jobs for our nation’s progress.

Paytm Mall Delists 50% Logistic Partners; Limits Delivery To 17k Pin Codes

Paytm Mall, owned by Paytm Ecommerce Pvt Ltd has consistently prioritised consumer trust and transparency in its order deliveries. After delisting 85,000 sellers, the company has taken another step towards guaranteeing the most superior consumer experience. In line with its mission to establish India’s most trusted commerce platform, it has delisted 50% logistics partners, stopping deliveries to more than 9,000 pin codes out of 26,000 were guaranteed assistance in returns and replacements was not assured.

The company aims to establish a reliable logistics ecosystem with greater transparency in delivery and replacement timelines while ensuring that exact products are delivered in a good condition. It routinely evaluates existing logistics partners and aggregation centres to review their performance and buyer feedback.

Based on this audit, the company has delisted 6 out of 14 logistic partners and 30 courier aggregation centres, as they were unable to offer a consistently superior consumer experience.

“We are building India’s most trusted online shopping destination by ensuring we work with trusted shopkeepers and logistics partners only. We believe working with fewer retailers and pin code that leads to a superior customer experience is more important than rapid expansion. We remain committed to expanding our coverage in due course by increasing the set of serviceable pin codes and number of merchant partners in a gradual manner,” said Amit Sinha, Chief Operating Officer, Paytm Mall.

Going forward, the company will expand its reach by offering a network of trusted logistics network to its partner shopkeepers and brand authorised stores across all pin-codes. This will ensure greater peace of mind for every entity in the retail ecosystem, as customers will be assured of a superior buying experience, while retailers will be able to sell their inventory to a larger set of customers.

Paytm Mall has recently revamped the seller onboarding process to further enhance the consumer trust on its platform. Sellers undergo strict quality and service audits that will include their registration number, shop location, shop photos, brand authorization letters and GSTIN among others in order to list their products on the platform. This criteria blocks potential fraudulent merchant from signing up and creating a bad customer experience. The company will continue partnering with reputed shopkeepers and brands, enabling them to sell on its platform.

Paytm Mall On-Boards Over 800 Personnel From One97; Set To Hire 2,000 More This Year

In May 2017, Paytm de-merged its e-commerce business into a separate entity by the name of Paytm Mall to address India’s large online retail opportunity. This new entity started off with the same shareholding as the parent company of Paytm, One97 Communications Limited and raised $200 million from SAIF Partners and Alibaba Group Holding. Paytm Mall works with retailers and brands to build their online stores integrated with supply chain in a partner model. It is currently targeting to launch its new app in a coming month.

And now Paytm has moved over 800 personnel actively involved in the growth of its e-commerce business from One97 Communications to the newly incorporated Paytm Mall. The company is also planning to hire 2,000 new personnel across various business and tech roles to effectively scale its operations.

Paytm Mall is focused on building the country’s largest e-commerce platform that enables brand and local shopkeepers in growing their business. It is innovating on multiple aspects of discovery and logistics among others to emerge as the preferred destination for consumers looking for the widest range of products sold by trusted sellers. The firm has put together a team with the most diverse set of experiences and skill-sets to handle key roles - Saurabh Vashishtha for marketing, Amit Bagaria for customer experience, Bhushan Patil for logistics and Sunil Goyal for Product and Technology. This team will continue overseeing various categories across the company.

Commenting on the development, Amit Sinha, Chief Operating Officer, Paytm Mall said, “I am excited to work with our long-standing colleagues to build the most trusted online shopping platform. We will make the largest selection of products available to customers on their smartphone, while empowering brands and local shopkeepers to sell online and offline with equal ease.”

Paytm Mall is also scaling its partner network by adding another 3,000 Paytm Agents to its existing workforce as it goes deeper into tier II and tier III cities, digitizing catalogues of neighborhood shopkeepers and trusted brands. It will leverage mobile technology to make this wide retail inventory available to millions of Indians, while helping these retailers reaching out to a wider set of customers around them.

Paytm Mall’s O2O (Offline-to-Online) platform is positioned to contribute towards the growth of every stakeholder in the retail ecosystem including shopkeepers and brands. It will boost the business of local stores by bringing new customers who will be able to discover them on Paytm Mall and conveniently place an order. Retailers also get access to valuable customer analytics for better targeting of existing users. Additionally, the customers who walk into the shops to scan the Paytm Mall QR code will be able to follow the store, place orders and get exciting offers.

Recently, Paytm Mall had launched Campus Icon, a nation-wide programme to offer industry-focused learning to college students.

Paytm Mall Launches Campus Icon Programme, Offers Industry Focused Learning To College Students

With 700 universities and more than 35,000 affiliated colleges enrolling over 20 million students, India’s higher education is a massive system that cuts across demographics and income levels, fostering the nation’s future leaders. With the vision to offer a unique learning experience to these young minds, Paytm Mall, owned by Paytm Ecommerce Pvt. Ltd has launched Campus Icon, a nation-wide programme to offer industry-focused learning to college students.

Commenting on the development, Amit Sinha, Chief Operating Officer, Paytm Mall said, “Our initiative will provide a unique opportunity to college-goers to harness their skills from a young age and showcase their talent. Becoming innovative thinkers and developing creative solutions will help them achieve a stronger sense of leadership and adapt to the changing demands of the new-age workplace. This would also spark an entrepreneurial spirit among students as they develop a wide range of skills spanning multiple disciplines.”

As a part of this six-week program, student participants will be assigned variety of tasks that would enhance their skills. Paytm Mall leadership will also mentor students on critical real-world techniques related to product, marketing, design among others via seminars and training material. Top performers of the programme would be awarded internships and full-time job offers as they get an opportunity to work closely with the Paytm Mall core team revolutionizing the face of mobile commerce in India.

Given that mobile technology is poised to transform lives in semi-urban and rural India, Paytm Mall would also facilitate technology adoption in these areas as a part of this programme, enabling students to buy laptops at discounted prices. They can also recommend laptops and other educational products to their peers to earn added incentives as they develop their skills.

The initiative will see Paytm Mall reaching out to 10,000+ students and inviting applications from across colleges. Students can log on and file their nominations till July 31, 2017

Paytm recently de-merged its e-commerce business into a separate entity by the name of Paytm Mall to address India’s large online retail opportunity. This new entity started off with the same shareholding as the parent company of Paytm, One97 Communications Limited and raised $200 million from SAIF Partners and Alibaba Group Holding. Paytm Mall works with retailers and brands to build their online stores integrated with supply chain in a partner model. It is currently targeting to launch its new app in a coming month.

Earlier in April 2017, Paytm Mall had launched an omni-channel commerce platform that enables shopkeepers to expand their business. Paytm Mall aims to partner with the large offline merchant network of Paytm and will adopt the QR code technology to bring efficiency in product discovery and supply chain.

Under this initiative, consumers can visit the Paytm Partner stores in their neighborhood and scan the QR code using their Paytm or Paytm Mall app to browse and order products.

Paytm is the first company to invest in QR code-based payment solution and has created an offline merchant network where consumers can scan and pay.

Paytm Mall Appoints Amit Sinha As Its Chief Operating Officer

Paytm Mall has appointed Amit Sinha as the Chief Operating Officer (COO). He will be responsible for overall operations of Paytm Mall and expanding the team to ensure customers have access to the widest assortment of products across categories, delivered quickly through an efficient and optimised partner logistics network. Sinha has served in several key business roles in Paytm and helped implement critical business, HR and financial processes for the company.

Commenting on the development, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO, Paytm said, “At Paytm Mall, we are addressing a unique opportunity of giving small businesses and retailers access to mobile internet technology to address India's large mobile consumer base. Amit's experience in building various businesses since their inception makes him our best choice to lead our commerce business.”

“Our goal is to build the country’s largest platform that enables trusted partners including brand and merchants in growing their business. We are innovating on multiple aspects of business and offering newer business opportunities for sellers. Paytm Mall also aims to be the preferred destination for consumers looking for the largest selection of products being sold by trusted sellers," said Sinha.

Paytm recently de-merged its e-commerce business into a separate entity by the name of Paytm Mall to address India's large online retail opportunity. This new entity started off with the same shareholding as the parent company of Paytm, One97 Communications Limited and raised $200 million from SAIF Partners and Alibaba Group Holding. Paytm Mall works with retailers and brands to build their online stores integrated with supply chain in a partner model. It is currently targeting to launch its new app in a coming month.

Softbank Likely To Invest $1 Billion in Paytm; Snapdeal To Merge Either With Flipkart or PayTM Mall

Japan’s telecom and internet conglomerate SoftBank is reportedly in talks with Alibaba-backed Indian e-wallet company PayTM to invest around $1 billion to $1.5 billion. The possible investment comes on the heels of talks with Flipkart for a merger with Snapdeal. Notably, SoftBank is a major stakeholder in Alibaba and Snapdeal both.

Surprisingly, an all-stock merger of Snapdeal with Paytm is being discussed at the highest level, said sources. This could mean SoftBank investing in PayTM, wherein China's Alibaba -- with 40% -- is a maximum stakeholder, and SoftBank in turn is among the oldest investors in Alibaba.

Reliance Capital, who was one of the earliest investors in PayTM, had already sold its stake in One97 Communications -- the parent company of digital payments provider Paytm -- to Alibaba in a deal estimated Rs 275 crore

Apart from Paytm, SoftBank is also in the early stages of considering an investment in online grocer BigBasket provided that Supermarket Grocery Services Pvt. Ltd. -- parent company of Bigbasket-- agrees to a merger with smaller rival Grofers in which the Softbank already has a significant stake.

SoftBank has investments in Snapdeal, while Alibaba has in Snapdeal and Paytm. Also, Softbank Founder & CEO, Masayoshi Son and Alibaba’s founder share a long relationship. In January 2000, SoftBank led a round of $20 million of investment in Alibaba.

According to some sources, SoftBank is making space for Alibaba in the Snapdeal-Flipkart merger -- indicating a three-way merger between Paytm Mall, Flipkart and Snapdeal.

SoftBank, which has been for the last three months trying to strike a deal to sell Snapdeal to Flipkart is in talks with Tiger Global to merge the Gurgaon-based marketplace with Flipkart. However according to sources the plausible deal could go either way -- Snapdeal getting merged either with Flipkart or Paytm.

Experts says that a deal with Paytm makes more sense for Snapdeal as there are synergies between the two ecommerce companies and have Alibaba as a common investor. PayTM, which a valuation of close to $6 billion, has a user base of over 200 million.

SoftBank has already invested $2 billion, and will invest another $8 billion in Indian startups in the next eight years.