Delhi-based Bona Vita Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which operates travel booking startup GoFro, has raised $10 million (Rs 64.21 crore) in a Series B round, the company said.
The funding round was led by Japanese travel company HIS Co. Ltd, while existing investor MakeMyTrip also participated in the round.
According to a company statement, this investment will help GoFro to further strengthen its technology platform, supply and agent network and expand into international markets.
“Support of HIS and MakeMyTrip is a validation of the potential of GoFro’s marketplace platform. We now look forward to HIS’s global reach and experience to help us enhance our global supply network and provide great holiday packages at competitive prices,†said Amitabh Misra, founder and chief executive, GoFro.
GoFro is a three-way online marketplace for holiday packages connecting travellers with suppliers and destination experts. The company was started with an objective to provide travellers with assortment of packages from all leading online and offline travel companies, including MakeMyTrip, Yatra, TUI and many more on a single platform.
Before starting Bona Vita, Misra was the chief technology officer of online marketplace Snapdeal. The starup had come out of stealth in June 2016.
“GoFro is poised for great success in the high growth holiday travel market in India. We believe it holds the potential to become the next travel-tech revolution. GoFro platform is globally scalable and we look forward to taking this revolution to the Japanese market,†said Akira Hirabayashi, vice-chairman, HIS Co Ltd, which has around 230 overseas branches in 141 cities across 66 countries, in addition to the 233 retail outlets in Japan.
“Through its superior technology, GoFro has the potential to bring hundreds of branded products under one umbrella to organise this fragmented market. We hold great confidence that GoFro will be able to capture and grow this underserved market through its differentiated product offering,†said Deep Kalra, founder, group chairman and group CEO, MakeMyTrip.
In 2015, MakeMyTrip Ltd had invested $5 million to pick up a majority stake in Bona Vita.