Japanese professional services marketplace raises $36m
Japanese start-up Minma, which operates P2P jobs and services marketplace Curama, has raised a JPY4 billion ($36.5 million) Series C round led by Nissay Capital, the VC unit of Nippon Life Insurance.
This is the first investment by Nissay’s recently established JPY10 billion pre-IPO fund, which targets companies with market capitalizations in excess of JPY50 billion. Nissay previously participated in Minma’s Series A and B rounds.
The Series C was also backed by Globis Capital Partners and Innovation Growth Fund, a joint venture between Sony and Daiwa Securities Group launched last year with a target of JPY20 billion. Japan Finance Corporation participated via a debt component, while strategic investors included digital navigation and mapping technology developer Zenrin Datacom.
Minma set up Curama in 2011 and claims to be the largest operator of its kind domestically. Curama helps users connect with regional professionals for short-term jobs and services, including house cleaning, moving, home appliance installation, and renovation work. The marketplace hosts more than 33,000 vendors, according to a release. It will use the fresh capital for branding, product development, and staff expansion.
Nissay recognizes services-based e-commerce as a relatively untapped segment that has seen delayed development due to difficulties around comparing the prices and quality of different service providers. US-based Thumbtack is recognized as the global leader in the category with an estimated valuation of around $1.3 billion.
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