Emergence of service ecommerce: India’s UrbanClap bags $10M from SAIF and Accel Partners

UrbanClap founders Abhiraj Bhal, Varun Khaitan, and Raghav Chandra

Indian services marketplace, UrbanClap, today announced it raised US$10 million in series A funding from existing investors SAIF Partners and Accel Partners. The company bagged US$1.6 million a few months ago.

The service does the usual tasks like providing electricians, plumbers, and painters. But it can also provide professional services like yoga and fitness trainers, nutritionists, photographers, and music and dance teachers, besides salon and beauty services at home.

UrbanClap works on two models. For standardized (blue collared) services like electricians or home cleaners, users can directly book and pay for the service on the app or site. For white collared services like photographers, interior designers, or yoga instructors, the site’s matchmaking algorithm understands what the user needs are and helps hire the right professional.

The startup claims that all professionals on the site are screened through stringent background checks and undergo a quality check process to ensure high standards.

UrbanClap currently serves Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai. With fresh funding, it plans to scale its operations pan-India, upgrade technology, and grow its team.

“We are currently serving 1,500 customer requests each day. Additionally, we have a strong, engaged base of 5,000 suppliers, connected to our merchant app. We plan to grow 10 times on every metric in the quarter,” said UrbanClap co-founder Abhiraj Singh Bhal said in a statement.

After the consolidation of India’s online product marketplaces, most marquee early stage funds have lined up to bet on those specific to services. Earlier this year, Mumbai-based rival LocalOye raised US$5 million in series A funding from Tiger Global Management and Lightspeed Venture Partners, while Taskbob raised US$1.2 million from Orios Venture Partners and Mayfield.

All these service marketplaces are competing with Rocket Internet-backed Helpling, which recently secured US$17 million in a series A round.

“There is a high level of non-standardization of service quality, pricing, and supplier base. The market is ripe for disruption, both from a discovery and consumption of services perspective,” says Mukul Singhal, principal of SAIF Partners.