Reseller platform Meesho raises $11.5 Mn, aims to create 20 Mn homepreneurs in 2 yrs

Meesho, an online marketplace for resellers, has raised $11.5 million in a series-B round led by Sequoia India, along with existing investors SAIF Partners, Y Combinator and Venture Highway.

This the second round of funding within a year. It raised $3.44 million led by SAIF Partners in October last year.

The platform plans to utilize the new investment into scaling up its product portfolio, hire fresh talent across teams, and for expanding into new seller categories.

The platform, which allows sellers to set up an online shop through its platform, is fast creating the network of sellers through the app and aims to create 20 million homepreneurs over the next two years.

Founded in 2015 by IIT Delhi alumni Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, Meesho is based out of Bengaluru.

The startup creates online pages for merchants which can be managed from its mobile app. Sellers can share these links on Facebook and WhatsApp with customers. The customers can browse through the product collection and chat with the sellers. The sellers get real-­time updates of the shop visitors and the products they are visiting. They can start a chat on WhatsApp with these customers right from the app.

Meesho has partnered with third-party logistics players to enable deliveries. The company has tied up with payment gateways Razorpay.

With the growing internet and retail market, Indian housewives are increasingly using social media like Facebook and Whatsapp to take advantage of the e-commerce rise and reach customers. As many as 2 million online women resellers are doing business of various lifestyle and clothing products on these platforms, clocking business worth about $8-9 billion in gross sales, says a report by consulting firm Zinnov.

The development was first reported by Mint.