Quikr Mauritius, the holding firm of horizontal classifieds portal Quikr India, has raised Rs 20 crore in second round of funding led by Omidyar Network. Matrix Partners India, an existing investor, has also invested in this round. The company has also announced appointment of Pranay Chulet as its new CEO.
Quikr is a classifieds website that targets local communities in eighteen cities across India to buy and sell goods and services. The firm has more than than 1.5 million users.
Chulet was till recently an entrepreneur in the new media space following time as a principal in Booz Allen Hamilton's media practice. He is a graduate from IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta.
“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,†said Matt Halprin, partner, Omidyar Network.
Omidiyar Network is an investment firm formed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam. Matrix Partners India managing director Avnish Bajaj, who sits on the board of Quikr, was co-founder of Baazee.com, which was bought out by eBay in 2004.
Quikr itself is a spinout. Earlier known as Kijiji.in, it was solely owned by a subsidiary of eBay Inc., Kijiji International, which runs various classified portals across the world. After Matrix invested in the India unit in February 2008, the firm was rebranded and relaunched.
This is the third investment by Matrix Partners India this month, which include two follow on investments in portfolio companies. Matrix Invested Rs 100 crore earlier this month in test preparation firm FIITJEE, followed by Rs 50 crore fundraising of its portfolio company Itz Cash last week.
