India’s answer to Craig’s List, Quikr, announced it has raised $32 million in Series E Financing, led by New York City-based private equity giant Warburg Pincus. Quikr said that its existing investors, Matrix Partners India, Norwest Venture Partners and eBay Inc., also took part in the fund-raising.
The investment is Quikr’s fifth and largest financing to date, following an $8 million raise in May 2011, led by Nokia Growth Partners, Norwest and eBay. The latest capital infusion brings Quikr’s total funding to $46 million.
Quikr previously operated as Kijiji until a re-branding in 2008, when the company adopted a name which projected a certain ease of use and speed.
The startup has grown into a sizable platform, claiming 17 million people and businesses use its services each month. The website enables people in the same city to meet, trade, share ideas, and help in various areas, such as household goods, cars and bikes, services, real estate, jobs, and matrimonials.
India’s e-commerce market is fairly young, but it has a great untapped potential. Local start-ups are growing quickly and attracting financing from big-name Silicon Valley investors as web penetration in the country shows signs of picking up.
Recently, online retailer Flipkart announced a total of $31 million in funding from Tiger Global Management LLC and Accel Partners, which was an early backer of Facebook Inc.
