Bike Bazaar has raised INR 170 crore in equity funding as part of its ongoing Series D raise, and is in advance negotiations with leading global investors for another INR 80 crore, raising the total Series D equity round to INR 250 crore, led by Women’s World Banking Asset Management (WAM), along with existing equity investors Elevar Equity and Faering Capital. Using the Series D funds, the organization intends to penetrate deeper into rural India as the demand for personal mobility rises, as well as to expand its marketplace business for the selling and buying of used two-wheelers, strengthening the company’s core value proposition of being a hyper-local, affordable two-wheeler lifecycle services provider.
“Bike Bazaar has always been about providing customer-centric services with a founding team that has put a lot of effort into understanding rural and semi-urban two-wheeler customers. The Series D fundraiser primarily aimed at cementing our position as a lifecycle services provider in the two-wheeler segment. Having WAM as an investor in our company is exciting to us. WAM will support Bike Bazaar in its quest to see more women on bikes (WOW),” said Srinivas Kantheti, MD, Bike Bazaar.
“Our strategy is to be present across the whole lifecycle of the two-wheeler,” Vadakkepat said. “For example, someone who is looking to buy a two-wheeler may want to exchange his old two-wheeler. He can avail of both the financing services and the resale service from us. We should be able to sell that old vehicle through our marketplace, or different pre-owned sales channels. We want to add value-added services like RTO transfers, insurance, etc, and over time we want to add services also. Actually, we want every business to feed on the other business so that we can leverage costs.”
According to him, the company is negotiating to raise an additional Rs 80 crore and is also in the advanced stages of negotiations with a foreign investor to raise an additional Rs 200–250 crore specifically for its EV business.
“Women’s world banking is dedicated to women’s economic empowerment and WAM is investing in Bike Bazaar’s demonstrated potential to provide accessible and affordable two-wheeler finance to financially underserved women in India. We are inspired by the company’s clear focus on increasing women ridership, especially in tier II and III towns and villages across India,” said Christina Juhasz, CIO, WAM.
Bike Bazaar claims to operate in more than 140 cities across India with more than 1,000 touchpoints, and it has a considerable presence in smaller towns. More than 3,00,000 two-wheeler loans have been disbursed by its financing division to date, and as of July 2022, it had transacted business worth more than Rs 1,500 crore in total gross transaction value. The company has amassed a total of Rs 400 crore in equity funding since its founding.
According to Vadakkepat, the company’s clientele includes individuals who work in fields such as plumbing, carpentry, and household maintenance; however, these individuals lack the necessary financial literacy to take advantage of credit and other facilities. To ensure loan repayment, Bike Bazaar has set up numerous cash collection sites.
Through partnerships with numerous banks and NBFCs, Bike Bazaar is able to provide loans. According to Vadakkepat, the startup will typically have a 20% exposure to these loans.
Founded in 2017 by Srinivas Kantheti and Karunakaran Vadakkepat, Bike Bazaar caters to the core-community two-wheeler segment in India. For these customers, two-wheelers viewed as critical mobility solutions that contribute directly to the business, employment and education.
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