OfBusiness, an e-commerce startup based in India is in talks to raise new funds. The startup focuses on the sale of industrial goods, in addition to providing credit to small businesses. The talks concerning the new round of funding are still underway, according to certain reports.
The Funding
If the talks prove to be successful, this will be the fourth round of funding that OfBusiness secures this year. The funding would also contribute to a surge in the valuation of the e-commerce platform. The valuation of the platform in April was a whopping $800 million and a striking $3 billion a month ago. The discussions are also underway concerning the investors. Falcon Edge Capital is contemplating on leading or co-leading the round. The e-commerce platform’s existing investors include SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Tiger Global, and Alpha Wave Incubation. All this information available concerning the potential round of funding is gathered from sources close to the matter as no official announcement or comment was given by the company. OfBusiness primarily acts as a procurement finance provider and raw material aggregator. The startup works closely with different banks to provide small and medium businesses with credit. OfBusiness is greatly dependant on data concerning user activity for underwriting loans to businesses that make use of the Of Business platform.
OfBusiness, over the years, has displayed commendable progress and growth as it managed to evolve according to the varying user demands and problems. A major step that contributed to the growth and success of the startup, a few months following its launch was the identification of a major roadblock faced by a good majority of the customers, namely working capital. This realization led the founder, Asish Mohapatra to hire key leaders who could help build a finance offering. The journey wasn’t free of certain challenges. Last year, in a podcast, Mohapatra shared his experience of the initial years when his knowledge about the underwriting and finance business was quite scanty. From there, the startup has indeed come a long way securing a valuation of a whopping $3 billion. The business has assumed greater proportions, and it has grown big with high profitability. This is one of the main points of intrigue for most of the investors who are eager to invest in the startup. After all, a startup that exudes potential and promise is always a good bet. The string of high profile investors OfBusiness boasts about attests this fact. OfBusiness’s revenue run rate amounts to $1 billion.
