Hopscotch, a Mumbai-based online retailer of babycare and children’s products, has raised $11 million in a second round of funding led by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and early-stage investor Velos Capital, amid a wave of consolidation in the nascent e-commerce segment, The Economic Times (ET) said.
The investment in Hopscotch marks Saverin’s and Velos Partners’ debut investment in India. Singapore-based Saverin, whose net worth at the time of the 2012 Facebook IPO was estimated at $4.2 billion, has been a prolific angel investor in technology startups in Southeast Asia and North America over the past few years, the Times said.
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He is also chairman of the advisory board at Velos Partners, which primarily invests in consumer and technology companies, the report said.
“I have been actively following the Indian Internet market and I am thrilled to make my first direct investment in India in a company of the calibre of Hopscotch”, Saverin said, according to technology industry platform e27.
“The company’s early track record in the large and growing Indian e-commerce market combined with the team’s experience, energy and vision makes this an intriguing investment opportunity”, he said.
Launched in 2012, Hopscotch is an e-commerce destination for Indian moms, offering multiple product categories including apparel, shoes, toys and accessories from around the world, e27 said.
“The latest round of funding will enable us to ramp up marketing, add more product categories and build out the senior management team, ” Hopscotch founder and CEO Rahul Anand told ET. Founded in 2012, the company has raised $15 million to date, including the second round of funding, the Times said.
Hopscotch is part of a small group of startups that target the online babycare and children’s products market in India. While peers such as Pune-based Firstcry and Mumbai-based Babyoye follow the inventory and catalogue model to reach customers, Hopscotch has adopted the flash sales model. It sources products from more than 1, 000 vendors in India and overseas and claims nearly 1, 000 shipments per day, ET said.
