Facebook on Thursday announced an investment in Meesho, a platform that enables Indian entrepreneurs to establish online businesses via social channels. The investment is pegged at $25 million.
This is Facebook's first investment in an India-based start-up.
In 2014, Facebook acquired Hyderabad-based Little Eye Labs for about $10-15 million. However, as a minority investor, this is the first time the social networking giant has invested in an Indian start-up.
Meesho is one of India’s fastest growing social commerce platforms, and provides small and independent entrepreneurs with products and tools to start, maintain and grow their businesses. It facilitates an innovative three-way marketplace enabling resellers, SMBs, and micro-entrepreneurs across India to connect with potential buyers using social media. A majority of these entrepreneurs are women.
“Facebook is an ally for India's economic growth and social development. With this investment in Meesho, we want to fuel a business model that can result in rapid job creation and the rise of a female entrepreneurial class in India,” Ajit Mohan, Vice President and Managing Director, Facebook India, told BusinessLine .
Vidit Aatrey, Co-Founder, Meesho, said, “It's been an amazing journey for the Meesho team and we cannot wait to do more as we work towards our goal of building a bigger community and enabling millions of entrepreneurs to be successful. Over the last 4 years we have grown from our humble beginnings at IIT, to 15,000 suppliers and 2,000,000 resellers throughout India. We share a common goal with Facebook — to enable community and help small businesses grow. This commitment from Facebook will help us leapfrog towards our goal.”
Meesho already has investments from Venture Capitalist firms Sequoia Capital and Saif Partners.
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