SaleBhai raises Rs 10cr funding from Times Group’s investment arm Brand Capital

E-commerce platform for regional goods, SaleBhai has raised an investment of Rs 10 crore from Times Group’s investment arm Brand Capital, which will now acquire a minority stake in the Ahmedabad-based company. Clearly, no cash is involved in the deal.

This is Brand Capital’s second investment after investing an undisclosed amount in peer-to-peer lending platform Faircent, which caters to retail and business loans. 

SaleBhai was founded by Vishwa Vijay Singh, Purba Kalita, and Pramod Rao. Vishwa looks after the company’s marketing and overall functioning, Purba takes care of content and communications, and Pramod is the IT expert.

Commenting on the funding, Vishwa said that the partnership will help the company in expanding its footprint and acquiring more customers in India and abroad.

Founded in September 2015, the online portal meets the requirements of 17 diasporic communities by sourcing authentic products from their native places. Sweets, namkeen, chocolates, spices, dry fruits, beverages, pickles, handicrafts, paintings, puja items, and herbal products from over 100 cities and 250 sellers are available on the portal.

Earlier this year, the startup had raised investment from 12 high-net-worth customers. The amount was expected to be in the range of Rs 5 lakh–1 crore. The investors in this round included HNIs like Hungama Vice-President Virendra Shekhawat; Deepak Chokhani, Director — Equity Capital Markets at CIMB; and Yogesh Patel, the promoter of Instani.

Funding scenario

With the crunch in funding, Indian startups have been reshaping their business models as well as revamping a number of other relevant strategies. Investments have soared in Tier II and other cities compared to the past years, but startups are still struggling, given that accessibility to daily facilities and meeting investors is not a frequent opportunity for these city-based entrepreneurs.

However, the advantage for these startups is the low cash burn which helps them through the early stages. While securing Rs 10 crore will be a major boost to SaleBhai, other metro-based e-commerce firms are facing hurdles in scaling their models and even major investments are not sufficient to ensure their survival in the long run.

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