Quikr Announces USD 8 Million Round by Nokia Growth Partners and other investors

Quikr, India’s leading horizontal classifieds player, announced today the completion of a USD 8 million round for Quikr Mauritius (a holding company of Quikr India) led by new investor, Nokia Growth Partners (NGP), and returning investors, Norwest Venture Partners and eBay Inc.Quikr (www.quikr.com) offers a web and mobile based classifieds platform that addresses a wide variety of local needs in 40 cities across India. More than 10 million consumers visit Quikr every month to buy, sell, rent or find things ranging from laptops to mobile phones to cars to real estate to jobs, and everything in between. Quikr is the leader in horizontal classifieds in India and the company continues to see rapid growth in the number of buyers and sellers on its platform. In a move that will further propel this growth, in the last 12 months, the company has transformed itself from an online industry leader to a player that leads across online and mobile media.

“We are impressed by Quikr’s growth and product leadership in online classifieds,” said Upal Basu, Managing Director, NGP Advisors India. “We expect the rapid adoption of 3G and Smartphones to create significant new opportunities for Quikr to deliver classifieds and other local commerce opportunities to mobile devices. We look forward to partnering with Quikr to support its growth in this high potential market.”

Pranay Chulet, CEO, Quikr, said, “We are excited to add a firm like Nokia Growth Partners to our group of marquee investors and look forward to growing and scaling our business further across online and mobile platforms. The NGP team brings extensive global insights and learning in mobile technology and services, and that is certain to further strengthen our leadership position in the market.”

Quikr is in a unique position where its simple platform addresses people’s transaction needs in a wide set of areas, hence its users come back to it again and again to use it in a variety of ways. By extending its platform from the web to mobile phones, the company has opened for itself a new market of hundreds of millions of users. With its broad user base and powerful appeal, the company has the potential to revolutionize the e-commerce landscape in India.

Quikr’s organic growth due to strong consumer adoption has attracted an impressive roster of investors from early on. The company was initially funded by Matrix Partners India and has subsequently attracted investments from Omidyar Network and Norwest Venture Partners. It is also invested in by eBay Inc. This current round is a strong validation of its vision and strategy, and further cements Quikr’s position as an innovative leader of the classifieds market.

About Quikr

Quikr is the leading web and mobile based classifieds platform in India that provides people the ability to trade and find goods and services in a variety of categories such as electronics, real estate, cars, bikes, services, jobs, education and entertainment. Quikr is currently available in 40 cities across India to address needs of the local communities by connecting people in a simple and convenient way. The company is used by consumers as well as small & mid-sized businesses, and prides itself in its ability to address your needs quickly. Visit www.quikr.com on your PC or Mobile to try out Quikr.