Kolo Raises Funding From RTP Global, Better Capital For Its Home Constructions Marketplace

Home construction marketplace Kolo has raised $4 Mn in a seed funding round. The round saw participation from VC firm, RTP Global and existing investor, Better Capital. 

The fresh capital will be used to expand Kolo’s footprint, hire talent and increase its product offerings including a content-recommendation engine, community offerings and digital portfolio as well as tools.

Founded in 2020 by former Gojek team members — Jery Althaf, Pranav Garg, Aayush Sharda and Vivek Mittal, Kolo works as a content community platform for homeowners, architects, interior designers, construction service professionals and building material providers.

The startup’s app helps homeowners to find home interior designs and meanwhile, avail services of interior designers, architects, 3D and CAD experts, and other home construction workers such as carpenters and painters. For professionals, the app aids them in creating a digital portfolio, sharing their work videos, photos and expertise with homeowners.

“Firstly, consumers want to be involved in their renovation projects given the amount of money they spend and since the decision has a lasting impact on how they live. Secondly, the influence of the media in driving transaction decisions,” said Jery Althaf. 

It claims to have witnessed a 10X growth since the last fundraising and further, expanded to other cities of India including Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. It aims to disrupt the home construction space via technology and also, become a one-stop solution for homeowners, service professionals and building material providers.

In September last year, it raised $550K in a pre-seed funding round led by Better Capital. The round saw participation from Singularity Ventures, and angel investors including Aldi Haryopratomo, Aakash Dharmadhikari from Jiva.ag, Sujayath Ali from ShopUp, Rajesh Sawhney from GSF, and Vir Kashyap from Babajobs.   

It faces competition from Interazzo, HomeLane, Spaceler, and Hidecor, among others in the home interior space. 

Home Interiors Space Sees An Uptick

According to a report, the Indian interior design market was worth $23.2 Bn in 2020 and is estimated to reach $38.2 Bn by 2027, at a CAGR of 7.4% during the forecast period of 2021-2027. 

The home interior sector got its first unicorn in 2021 when construction materials marketplace Infra.market secured $100 Mn in a Series C funding round led by Tiger Global. Accel Partners, Nexus Venture Partners, Evolvence India Fund, Sistema Asia Fund and Foundamental Gmbh also participated in the round. 

Besides this, a slew of fundraisings have occurred in the sector. In April this year, home interiors and construction ecommerce marketplace YOUKRAFT secured $10 Mn in seed funding from the Goel Family Office including Manav Goel, founder and CEO of YOUKRAFT. 

In January this year, home interiors startup HomeLane announced an INR 27 Cr ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) buyback program, marking its second such program according to the startup. Previously, it had raised $50 Mn (INR 371 Cr) in a Series E funding round led by IIFL AMC’s late-stage tech fund, OIJIF II (Oman India Joint Investment Fund) and existing investor Stride Ventures. 

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Update | 11th May, 1:13 PM IST

The article has been updated to include details of Babajob