Australia-Based Canva Enters India; Aims To Simplify Graphic Designing For Bloggers And Startups

Australia-based online graphic design platform, Canva, has officially entered the Indian market. It allows users to create professional quality designs on its platform.

The company has already garnered 150,000 users already in India, and over 2000 Indian users are signing up every day. Indian users account for Canva’s 4th largest market, and have already created more than 1 Mn designs on its platform. It aims to cater to the country’s rapidly growing blogger, social media marketing and startup communities, and reach 1 Mn users by 2016.

“India is already one of our top five markets, and we see great potential for it to become an even bigger market for us. We will be investing in local marketing, business development and brand partnerships in India with the goal of getting the word about Canva out to Indian social media marketers, bloggers and small businesses, and empowering them to create their own beautiful designs,” said Melanie Perkins, CEO & founder of Canva in a statement.

“We’ll also be launching our Canva Experts partnerships in India and working with local firms to help Indian users get the most out of the platform,” she added.

Canva Experts are local firms who work closely with the company and represent the platform at events. They are also holding trainings and work with the local communities to get the most out of the platform’s potential.

Aiming to add a localised touch to their design elements and ride the current festive wave that’s sweeping the nation, Canva has incorporated design templates for cards and social media posts to celebrate festivals such as Durga Puja, Dussehra and Diwali.

Melanie said, “Design in India comes with a background of so many colours, vibrance and a multicultural ethos that is native to the Indian spirit. For this reason, we are launching in India with customized festival themed templates to cater to digital marketers, bloggers and designers during the upcoming festive season.”

Since its inception, two years back, the company has acquired 5 Mn users across more than 179 countries. Each week, over 1 Mn designs are created on its platform. The company recently completed a $15 Mn Series A funding round, valuing it at $165 Mn.

Related: Three Tips For Startups On Raising Fund: The Canva Story

The funding was led by investors Felicis Ventures, along with existing investors Blackbird Ventures, Matrix Partners and new investors Vayner Capital – the investment arm of Gary Vaynerchuk. Hollywood actors Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson are also backing the company. Canva will use the funding to grow its team, enhance the product and expand globally. It also recently launched Canva for Work – a subscription-based offering for businesses.

Related: Melanie Perkins: Five Lessons From My Startup Journey

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