Two wheeler lifecycle services and finance specialist, Bike Bazaar has raised Rs 170 crore of equity funding as part of its ongoing Series D raise and is in advance discussions with leading global investors for a further Rs 80 crore, taking the total Series D equity round to Rs 250 crore. The Pune-based company secured the funding from a consortium led by Women’s World Banking Asset Management (WAM). WAM joins existing equity investors Elevar Equity and Faering Capital. Elevar was the founding investor in Bike Bazaar and continues to hold the largest stake.
Bike Bazaar has raised debt financing of over Rs 250 crore from various banks and financial institutions in the last six months. The company is also in conversations with global EV (Electric vehicle) focussed funds to bag about Rs 200 – 250 crore for its two wheeler EV financing, leasing and services business.
Commenting on the announcement Christina Juhasz, CIO of WAM said, “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 Bike Bazaar’s clear focus on increasing women ridership especially in tier II and tier III towns and villages across India.”
The company intends to use the Series D funds to penetrate deeper into rural India as the need for personal mobility rises (especially among women) and also scale its marketplace business for sale and purchase of used two wheelers, thereby strengthening the company’s core proposition of a hyper-local, affordable two wheeler lifecycle services specialist.
Srinivas Kantheti, MD of Bike Bazaar shared, “With a founding team that has spent a significant time understanding rural and semi-urban two wheeler customers, Bike Bazaar at its core has always been about creating customer centric offerings…… The series D fundraise is primarily focused on cementing our position as a lifecycle services player in the two wheeler segment. We are thrilled to have Women’s World Banking Asset Management as an investor in our company. With a clear mandate of women empowerment, WAM will assist Bike Bazaar in its journey of getting more and more Women on Wheels (WOW)”.
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