SUMMARY
Instamojo will enable D2C brands to launch their own independent online stores, using existing digital solutions offered by the company
The company currently offers merchants digital solutions which include online payments, logistics, credit services and a free learning platform
It aims to onboard 100K D2C brands by the end of this year
Fintech platform Instamojo announced the launch of its new ecommerce platform, on June 8, which will enable small businesses and direct to consumer (D2C) brands to come online.
With this initiative, Instamojo will enable D2C brands to launch their own independent online stores, using existing digital solutions offered by the company. Merchants can build an online profile along with running and managing their online businesses.
Founded in 2012 by Akash Gehani, Harshad Sharma and Sampad Swain, Instamojo helps merchants manage digital payments and reconciliation, and create a digital presence. The fintech startup is backed and advised by prominent angel investors and VCs such as Rajan Anandan, Sunil Kalra, 500 Startups, Blume Ventures, Dave McClure, Rob de Heus, Thijs Gitmans, Pankaj Jain, Shailesh Rao, Bharathram Thothadri, and Avlesh Singh.
The company currently offers merchants digital solutions which include online payments, logistics, credit services and a free learning platform called mojoversity among others. Instamojo closed its pre-series C round of funding in the later part of 2020. According to Crunchbase data, the company has raised $8.4Mn funding till date. In FY2020, Instamojo’s annualised Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) stood at INR 8,268 with a 23% hike compared to FY19.
Sampad Swain, CEO and cofounder, Instamojo said, “ It was then in 2018 that we as a company came to the realisation that a model based on standalone payments will not survive, and that we need to look for new avenues of growth via a diversified commerce platform. We needed a sustainable model with characteristics like brand affinity, cascading network effects and higher margins which we found in ecommerce.”
In August 2018, Instamojo launched mojoExpress and mojoCapital. While mojoExpress provides a logistics solution enabling delivery of products sold on its mojoEcommerce platform, mojoCapital provides credit and lending solutions to micro-merchants.
Instamojo already offered a free online store feature since inception, and in early 2020, it acquired the Times Internet backed company GET ME A Shop (GMAS), a software as a service (Saa)S based model of starting online stores for small businesses. Times Internet got a stake in Instamojo as part of the deal.
“Putting together the expertise of GMAS and our learning from serving millions of MSMEs, Instamojo is now venturing full-fledged into the space of ecommerce. We are aiming to redefine the online store business, and possibly be one of the first to build a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) SaaS business for small businesses and D2C brands in India.”
The new ecommerce platform is suitable for the smallest of businesses, and will broadly offer merchants tools to build and manage their own business website, integrated services which include digital payments, logistics, instant pay-outs, access to credit, marketing tools and CRM. It also has a Do it for Me (DIFM) feature where Instamojo’s tech experts take charge of building a merchant’s website.
“Starting from payments, instant payouts to solve cash flow crunch, reseller network and marketing tools to cover aspects like discoverability, brand visibility and post sales customer delight, Instamojo has created an entire ecosystem of not just starting business online but also start transacting immediately. With our ecommerce offerings today, we aim to on-board 100k D2C brands at the end of this year,” added Swain.
The Bengaluru based startup launched the beta version of its ecommerce platform in February this year. The platform clocked more than 100% growth in the first quarter post the launch in key performance indicators which included subscriptions, active paying customers and net subscriber addition with 95% retention, claims Instamojo.
Razorpay, CCAvenue, BillDesk, PayPal, PayUbiz, Easebuzz are some of the companies which are competing for a pie of ecommerce enablement space apart from a number of ecommerce platforms like GlowRoad and Meesho.
