Internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 has led a $300m funding round for India-based online reselling platform developer Meesho at a $2.1bn valuation, the Economic Times reported yesterday.
Social media company Facebook and Prosus Ventures, the investment arm of internet group Prosus, also took part, as did Shunwei Capital, Venture Highway and Knollwood Investment, according to a company statement cited by ET.
Meesho operates an online platform through which users can connect and sell to customers on social media. Its core group of sellers are female small business owners, and it manages payment, order management and logistics on their behalf.
The round took Meesho’s total funding to $490m. Naspers, the media and e-commerce group that formed Prosus, led a $125m round for the company in August 2019 that included Facebook, Shunwei Capital, Venture Highway, SAIF Partners, RPS Ventures and Sequoia Capital.
Shunwei Capital, DS Partners, RPS Ventures and existing investors Sequoia India, SAIF Partners and Venture Highway and Y Combinator had supplied $50m in series C funding for Meesho the previous year at a valuation of up to $250m.
Sumer Juneja, partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, which runs Vision Fund 2, said: “We have been closely tracking Meesho for the last 18 months and have been impressed by their growth, daily engagement metrics, focus on unit economics and ability to create a strong team.
“We believe Meesho provides an efficient platform for [small and medium-sized enterprise] suppliers and social resellers to onboard the e-commerce revolution in India and help them provide personalised experience to consumers.”
