Chennai-based local listing services provider Sulekha.com, on Tuesday said that it has raised Rs. 175 crore from the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore-GIC and Norwest Venture Partners.
The fresh fund raised would be used to further expand the platform and invest in technology and branding, the company said in a press release.
Commenting on the development, Satya Prabhakar, Founder and CEO of Sulekha.com, said, “This investment by GIC and Norwest is a powerful endorsement of the vast potential of the local services opportunity in India and Sulekha’s ability to prosecute it successfully”.
According to various estimates local businesses spend an estimated $2.5 billion in advertising across various media to capture $200 billion worth of local services bought in diverse categories such as computer training, serviced apartments, party catering, babysitting, elder care, yoga lessons, kitchen renovation, and wedding photography. The Chennai-based company has about 50 lakh businesses listed on its platform.
Promod Haque, Senior Managing Partner of Norwest Venture Partners, said, “Sulekha’s innovative digital platform allows users to fulfil their needs while providing a highly targeted and affordable avenue for small businesses to secure customers. Less than 10 per cent of local businesses in India have ever advertised according to recent estimates.”
Mitsui & Co. (Tokyo), and Indigo Monsoon Group are also investors in Sulekha.
