[Funding Galore] From Mintifi To Zetwerk — Indian Startups Raised $178 Mn This Week

The second week of March fared better in raising capital after witnessing a record 96 week lows of funding between February 27 and March 4. Between March 6 and March 11, the startup ecosystem raised $178 Mn across 18 deals. 

This is a 450% jump in the total amount amassed by the Indian startups when compared to $32.3 Mn being raised last week across 16 deals. This week’s funding is, however, 17% lower than $215 Mn raised by Indian startups between February 20 and 25 across 17 deals. 

Key Highlights From This Week’s Funding 

1. B2B digital lending startup Mintifi raised $110 Mn (INR 902 Cr) – the largest round this week – as part of a Series D funding round led by Premji Invest 
2. B2B industrial ecommerce platform Zetwerk raised $12 Mn in debt from Edelweiss Group amidst the funding winter
3. Ahead of IPL, fantasy cricket startup Fantasy Akhada’s parent Super Six Sports Gaming (SSSG) has raised $11 Mn in a funding round led by Florintree Advisors 
4. Enterprisetech sector bagged the highest number of funding deals this week with six startups collectively raising more than $21.6 Mn 
5. Fintech sector raised the highest funding amount at $123 Mn across three deals, which is 69% of the total funding being raised this week
6. This week, the busiest investor was ah! Ventures as it doled out two cheques to D2C startup – MITRA and edtech startup – DApp World. 

Startup Funding Deals Of The Week

Other Key Developments

1. Fintech unicorn slice acquired a 5% stake in Guwahati-based North East Small Finance Bank for $3.42 Mn (INR 28 Cr)
2. Content-to-commerce unicorn The Good Glamm Group had further increased its stake from 75% to 90% in The Moms Co., a D2C mother-and-baby care products brand
3. We reported that BYJU’S owned Aakash is planning to raise $250 Mn in convertible notes ahead of its planned IPO 
4. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is in talks to acquire a stake worth $500 Mn in Peyush Bansal-led Lenskart.
5. The cofounder of Flipkart – Binny Bansal is in talks to invest around $100-150 Mn in fintech giant PhonePe as part of its ongoing funding round.