Japan-based e-commerce marketplace provider Base has received ¥1.5bn ($14.3m) in a funding round backed by financial services firms SBI Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, The Bridge reported on Sunday.
The banks, which particiapted through subsidaries SBI Investment and SMBC Venture Capital respectively, were joined by venture capital firm Suneight Investment.
Founded in 2012, Base enables businesses to easily set up their own online store free-of-charge. Sellers can customise the look of their shop either through templates or by uploading their own design, and accept credit card and bank transfer payments through Base’s Pay.jp tool.
The money will go towards further development of Pay.jp and will also drive recruitment to boost Base’s expansion efforts. The company currently operates 300,000 online stores on its platform.
CyberAgent Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of internet company CyberAgent, invested $2m in a $2.7m round for Base that closed in 2013 with contributions from East Ventures, Suneight and PartyFactory.
Investment firm Global Brain supplied $3m for Base in May 2014, which was followed by $4.5m from resale shopping app provider Mercari in January this year.