Online two-wheeler financing and marketplace startup Bike Bazaar has closed its Series D equity funding with $10 million raised from DEG, the investment arm of German state-owned development bank KfW. So far, Bike Bazaar has raised $30 million in total from multiple investors, including Women World’s Banking Asset Management (WAM), Elevar Equity, and Faering Capital.
Srinivas Kantheti, Bike Bazaar’s co-founder and managing director, said the funding will be used to penetrate deeper into rural India and to shore up its electric vertical. The company will also use the capital to scale up its marketplace business, especially its tech stack.
“We at Bike Bazaar are proud to be ushering two-wheeler financing into a new era of hyper-growth,” said Kantheti. “This round is testimony to our performance, and we’re doubling down on electric two-wheeler financing by offering unique products including leasing and rental solutions.”
With over 1,200 touchpoints in 140+ cities, Bike Bazaar is well-positioned to leverage the burgeoning two-wheeler market in the country. So far, the startup has disbursed more than 375,000 two-wheeler loans, with a cumulative disbursement of over $26 million at the end of December 2022. Bike Bazaar aims to achieve assets under management of $125 million by the end of the financial year 2022-23 (FY23).
“With our financing, we are supporting the growth of a pioneering financial institution so that it can continue to drive financial inclusion amongst underserved demographics,” said Monika Beck, a member of DEG’s management board. “We are specifically excited at the opportunities in the electric mobility space in India, which form a core part of Bike Bazaar’s strategy going forward.”