Indian social commerce startup nets $75m in series C money

Citymall, an India-based social commerce startup, has raised US$75 million in a series C round led by Norwest Venture Partners. Investors including Jungle Ventures, Elevation, and Accel also participated.

Citymall co-founders Naisheel Verdhan (left) and Angad Kikla / Photo credit: Citymall

It is the company’s third fundraise in the last 18 months. Citymall also disclosed that Jungle Ventures doubled its investment in the company between its series B raise and the new round.

Citymall is a community-based ecommerce platform targeted at consumers in Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4 towns and provides income opportunities to a network of micro-entrepreneurs, known as community leaders.

The company said it recorded a more than 30% month-on-month growth in terms of gross merchandise value in the last 18 months. It has also helped create entrepreneurship opportunities for over 30,000 community leaders across 25 towns and cities in the same period.

Citymall was founded in 2019 by serial entrepreneurs Angad Kikla and Naisheel Verdhan.

The startup will use the fresh funds to strengthen its leadership and engineering teams, introduce new categories to its marketplace, and expand its reach to 100 towns over the next 18 months. It is also looking to grow its presence in the recently added fashion and general merchandise categories on its platform.

Citymall previously raised US$11 million in a series A funding round led by Accel Partners in March last year. Three months later, it secured US$22.5 million in a series B fundraise led by General Catalyst and Jungle Ventures.

See also: Behind Ula’s entry into social commerce

Other investors in the new round include:

• General Catalyst
• Citius
• Arena Ventures
• WaterBridge Ventures