Reports confirm that Supermarket Grocery Supplies (SGSPL), owner of the BigBasket brand, has secured $150 million in new round of funding led by Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth fund, one of the leading investors operating in global growth markets, Alibaba Group and CDC Group, the UK Government’s development finance institution.
According to the company, the round values BigBasket at over $1billion, which makes it the newest Unicorn out of India. This investment round which Mirae-Naver led through one of its funds highlights the group’s largest investment in India.
Apparently, Mirae-Naver Asia Growth fund is a joint venture between Naver Corporation, leading internet company of South Korea and Seoul-based Mirae Financial Group.
Sources familiar with the matter informed that in 2017, Alibaba Group, which had formerly led the Series E round of funding at SGSPL, also participated in the round of funding. The Alibaba Group led by Jack Ma aims to allow the growth of domestic Indian companies such as SGSPL, enabling more users to come online in the country.
Along with this, CDC Group has also committed over $1.7 billion and has been investing in India for over 30 years. Directly or indirectly it has been an investor in over 300 companies. CDC’s primary aim is to reinforce commercial growth that increases employment and access to services that improve standard of living, sources said.
Seemingly, the proceeds of this round of funding will be used to finance growth of SGSPL through further penetration into current markets with additional investments in the first step, mounting up its supply chain and emerging new reseller channels.
Head of India Investments for Mirae Asset Global Investments, Ashish Dave commented that SGSPL offers a convenient and transformational experience to its customers, which makes it a favored grocery platform.
For the uninitiated, SGSPL was founded in 2011, is headquartered in Bengaluru and serves resellers in 15 Tier-II cities and 10 metro cities.