Yesterday, Mumbai-based online classifieds startup Quikr announced a Rs 20 crore Series B round of funding from Omidyar Network and existing investor Matrix Partners — see the press release here. The company had raised an undisclosed sum from Matrix in February last year. Online auction major eBay is also an investor in the firm. Incidentally, Quikr was earlier known as Kijiji and was a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay. The company, which started life as Kijiji in 2005, claims 1.5 million users per month and derives its revenues primarily through advertising. New media entrepreneur Pranay Chulet recently signed up as the company’s new CEO.
Omidyar Network is an interesting investor to bring on board. Quikr is the firm’s first consumer Internet investment in India. Started by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar (in photo) and his wife Pam in 2004, the firm is into philanthropic investments and has committed $293 million in various such businesses till date. This includes $136 million invested in for-profit ventures and $157 million as grants in not-for-profit ventures. It has been a fairly active investor in India over the past few years. Here’s a list of its other India and India-related investments: Read the full story
