Instamojo raises $7M to help SMEs and 'micro-entrepreneurs' in India sell online
In India, startups are quietly building the tools and platforms to enable a different kind of gig economy: one that allows ?micro-entrepreneurs? to tap growing access to the internet to sell goods and services online. One such figure helping this burgeoning economy is Instamojo, a seven-year-old�Bengaluru-based startup, has pulled in a $7 million Series B [?]
- One such figure helping this burgeoning economy is Instamojo, a seven-year-old Bengaluru-based startup, has pulled in a $7 million Series B as it aims to grow its reach to over one million SMEs and micro-SMEs in India.
- In an interview with TechCrunch, CEO and co-founder Sampad Swain said the company has some 650,000 merchants, and it is adding a further 1,200 daily.
- Most of them, he said, tend to earn less than $30,000 in annual sales; with around half sell physical products, such as e-commerce items, and the remainder using Instamojo to invoice for physical services or sell digital items such as courses.
- Instamojo founders [left to right] Akash Gehani, Sampad Swain and Harshad SharmaUnlike Meesho, a YC-backed micro-entrepreneurship service in India that recently raised $50 million, Instamojo isn’t dominated by e-commerce to friends, family and neighbors.
- Swain said typical Instamojo sellers look to reach audiences outside of people they know, with platforms like YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp and others commonly used to reach audiences.