July 30, 2009, Mumbai, India — Quikr India, a leading horizontal classifieds player in India announced today the completion of a Rs. 200 million second round of funding in Quikr Mauritius (a holding company of Quikr India) led by new investor Omidyar Network and returning investor Matrix Partners India. Quikr India also announced it has added Pranay Chulet, a seasoned online leader and entrepreneur, as Chief Executive Officer.
Quikr (www.quikr.com) offers a classifieds website that addresses the needs of local communities in eighteen cities across India. More than 1.5 Million people use Quikr to buy and sell a wide range of goods and services, find everything from jobs to homes to a life partner, and connect with others who share their interests. Quikr truly enables people to come together, meet and help each other with day-to-day needs.
“We are impressed by Quikr’s tremendous growth,” said Matt Halprin, partner, Omidyar Network. “As it expands to new users, Quikr is enabling more people in India to engage online, connect with one another and exchange affordable goods and services, creating positive social impact while delivering excellent financial returns.”
Pranay Chulet, a graduate of IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta, joins Quikr as its CEO. Previously, Chulet spent more than a decade in New York, working most recently as an entrepreneur in the new media space following time as a Principal in Booz Allen Hamilton’s media practice.
“I am excited to join Quikr’s talented team,” said Chulet. “Today Quikr serves a group of passionate users and employs a scalable business model, and I look forward to building on that foundation to expand Quikr’s reach to greater numbers of people in India.”
Avnish Bajaj, co–founder and Managing Director of Matrix India, serves on Quikr Mauritius’ Board of Directors. As one of India’s internet pioneers who co-founded Baazee.com, Bajaj noted, “We are excited about this event and look forward to Quikr capitalizing on the vast potential of classifieds in India, under Pranay’s leadership.”
About Quikr.com
Quikr is a free, city based, community classifieds website which enables people in the same city to meet, trade and help each other out in areas such as household goods, cars & bikes, local services, jobs and more. Quikr as the name suggests captures the simplicity of use and features the website is built on. Quikr is currently available in 18 cities across India to address different needs of the local community in these cities by connecting people in a simple and convenient way. To try out Quikr, please visit www.quikr.com
About Omidyar Network
Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, the organization invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to catalyze economic, social, and political change. To date, Omidyar Network has committed more than $290 million to for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations that foster economic advancement and encourage individual participation across multiple investment areas, including microfinance, property rights, government transparency, and social media. To learn more about Omidyar Network, please visit www.omidyar.com
About Matrix Partners India
Matrix Partners India is an investment firm with INR 1,500 crores under management. The firm invests in companies targeting the Indian domestic market with a sector independent investment strategy focused on generating exceptional returns. The firm invests up to INR 125 crores in a company depending on its stage of development and has invested in several companies including FIITJEE, Itzcash Card, and Tree House. The Mauritius based fund’s investors include leading university endowments and family foundations. Matrix Partners has a global network of funds investing in the US, China and India with $2 billion under management. Further information is available at www.matrixpartners.in