B2B Ecommerce platform for refurbished smartphones, MobiGarage, has raised an undisclosed amount as part of its Pre-Series A round.
The round was led by leading US venture capital fund SOSV ($970 million AUM), which also saw participation from Artesian (Australia Based VC), Inflection Point Ventures, MobAvenue(Singapore based), AppyHigh Technology LLP, LetsVenture (Led by Veda.vc), and prominent HNIs include Nikhil Aggarwal, Mrunal Jhaveri, Priyanka Chawla, Nitin Uppal, Rishabh Bhatia, Soarabh Gupta and Amit Anand, a release said.
Having grown 300% during the pandemic, MobiGarage is India’s leading player in the mobile recommerce space, the first of its kind to introduce AI to operationalise a robust supply chain. The funding will help the company scale operations in Tier 2+ cities and rural markets, strengthen the leadership team, build proprietary technologies and analytic engines and launch a focused D2C brand for Bharat.
“It’s an exciting time for D2C companies: India’s population in Tier 2+ cities is demanding more sophisticated products and a wider range of options,” SOSV General Partner and MOX Managing Director William Bao Bean said.
“MobiGarage has beaten the pandemic blues to show tremendous growth in over 50 Tier 2+ cities thanks to its robust supply chain, and we’re excited to help the company scale all over India,” he added.
MobiGarage is innovating India’s multibillion dollar smartphone market with its omnichannel model that ensures hyperlocal services all over India, both through the ecommerce marketplace MobiGarage.com and through a unique hub-and-spoke retail model.
Inflection Point Ventures Co-founder Ankur Mittal said, “India is already one of the largest smartphone markets in the World. Tier 2 and 3 cities are contributing a majority of new smartphone shipments.”
He added that MobiGarage has the potential to become India’s most trusted brand in the second-hand smartphone category that can address the needs of those aspiring to upgrade their phones and those who are keen to join the digital economy by switching from feature phones to smartphones.
“The company has the potential to conquer the MENA region in next 2+ years as well. This is a highly scalable idea and we are excited to back them in this journey,” he added.
Already profitable since its inception, MobiGarage is processing 20,000 orders a month, growing 3x annually. The demand for refurbished devices has increased since the 1st wave of pandemic.
Despite the extended lockdowns in the current as well as last year, the space boomed as restrictions eased, testament to the rapid growth witnessed by MobiGarage. The startup is looking to extend its retail and franchise partnerships across India in lower tier markets in the next few months.
