Mobile commerce startup Bikayi raises $10.8 mn funding round led by Sequoia

Bikayi, one of the fastest growing mobile commerce enablers, has raised $ 10.8 million in a Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital India. In early August 2020, the company raised $ 2 million as part of an initial funding round led by Y Combinator.

Founded in 2019 by IIITians Sonakshi Nathani and Ashutosh Singla, Bikayi helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) scale their reach on digital platforms, enabling them to reach a broader audience base. The platform provides businesses with a digital showcase, professional features, and tools to help them grow. Some of the features include a dedicated business advisor, catalog listing, shipping service, payments, and also customer behavior information to manage your e-commerce stores through a single platform.

"Our vision is to empower all small businesses to succeed in the emerging online marketplace by providing them with affordable tools, helping them achieve unimaginable goals," said Sonakshi Nathani, co-founder and CEO of Bikayi. "We are on a mission to fulfill the aspirations of the millions of small businesses that power our economy. There are merchants who have made more than $ 1 million through their Bikayi online stores in the span of a year. Stories like these haunt us. with delivering the best for our clients every day. "

With its business base growing 5x in the last eight months, Bikayi’s Annual Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) has grown 1,800 percent in parallel. The company currently has more than 4 million registered users on the platform. Bikayi helps them to sell their products across India and to stand out in the ever-evolving e-commerce industry. With a view to expanding the range of product offerings, the company plans to use this capital to accelerate product development, acquisition and talent acquisition.

Shriansh Thakur, Vice President of Sequoia Capital India, said that India is on the cusp of an e-commerce revolution and that SMEs will play a critical role in shaping this landscape for the next decade. India is home to more than 75 million small and medium-sized enterprises, accounting for more than 30 percent of India's GDP, employing more than 130 million, and forming the backbone of the economy.

"The rapid digitization of SMEs and the deepening of the e-commerce ecosystem are big trends in India," Thakur said. "Bikayi is building a next-generation product that is at the confluence of these two trends, integrating all business infrastructure on one platform."

Also Read: Twitter launches subscription-based feature “super follows”