Warburg Pincus leads $32m round for Quikr

The investors' contribution represents the fifth and largest round of funding for the firm, a subsidiary of Quikr Mauritius, which counts Nokia Growth Partners, eBay and Omidyar Network among its shareholders. eBay participated in the funding.

Established in July 2008, the classifieds platform allows individuals and small businesses to sell, buy, rent or find products and services in a variety of categories such as electronics, cars, bikes, real estate, services, jobs, education and entertainment. Formerly known as Kijiji, it covers 83 cities across India, with an alleged 17 million unique visitors per month.

"We were impressed by the dynamism and the vision of Quikr's management team to further build on Quikr's leadership position as an innovative online marketplace," commented Nitin Nayar, managing director for Warburg Pincus India.

Quikr Co-Founder and CEO Pranay Chulet added that the new capital will enable Quikr to diversify its online and mobile offerings, intensify its product development efforts and strengthen its marketing capabilities.

India's internet sector is expected to experience exponential growth over the coming 10 years, buoyed by the increasing number of internet users, rising income levels and a young population.

In April 2010, NVP and Matrix led a $6 million investment round for Quikr, in partnership with Omidyar Network and eBay. Quikr intended to use that funding to expand its range and quality of services, and was mulling a move into offline spaces such as radio and print.

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• Topics
• Expansion
• Technology
• South Asia
• Warburg Pincus Asia
• Matrix Partners
• Norwest Venture Partners
• Technology
• Growth capital
• India