The first week of the year saw two early stage VC firms – Unicorn India Ventures and Endiya Partners – make the first closes of their funds. Our latest funding roundup has seen early stage and seed investments in startups engaged in last-minute hotel bookings, online jewellery, organic produce, and fashion.
SavvyMob
Bengaluru-based last minute hotel reservation app SavvyMob announced that it has closed a seed investment round led by Mohandas Pai’s Aarin Capital and angels from online funding platform LetsVenture, and members of prominent business houses in India. Founded by Bikram Sohal and Gappan Annamalai in 2014, the company has apps for Android and iOS, with over 10,000 downloads on Google Play at the time of writing. The company plans to add over 5,000 hotels across a hundred plus cities in India to its mobile marketplace in the coming months.
Melorra
Online jewellery brand Melorra has reportedly closed its first round of funding at $5 million (roughly Rs. 33.4 crores) from Lightbox Ventures. Funded in 2015 by Saroja Yeramilli, the Bengaluru-based startup provides free shipping, a 30-day free returns policy, and cash-on-delivery option. The company currently has an iOS app and plans to release an Android app soon.
Lumiere
Bengaluru-based seed-to-table organic product firm Lumiere Organic Venture Pvt Ltd has reportedly raised an undisclosed sum in Series A funding from 20 undisclosed investors. The company sources its produce from organic farms at Munnar, Kochi, and Kolar, and reportedly plans to add five more stores in Bengaluru by the end of 2016.
Fashionablyin
Mumbai-based Fashionablyin, a startup that helps designers seek help in sourcing direct from factories has received an undisclosed sum of funding in an round from Epic group chairman, Ranjan Mahtani. The company reportedly has over 2,000 businesses registered on its website, and aims to create a direct link between fashion houses, manufacturers, and suppliers.
