Snapdeal’s $100M Mobile Platform Investment
Summary
The Times of India reported Monday (Sept. 7) that eCommerce company Snapdeal will invest $100 million in Shopo in an effort to push users of the venture to a million-member mark.Shopo, which debuted two months ago in July, is a mobile-centric platform that looks to take small and medium businesses, shut out from larger eCommerce portals, onto the Internet.In an interview with the Times, Kunal Bahl, the cofounder and chief executive officer of Snapdeal, said that we launched Shopo in mid-July, and we already have 20,000 shops on the platform. We are also working on a community of Shopo angels to drive consumer engagement, he said.The Shopo model lets entrepreneurs list their products without having to submit documents, nor do they offer up any commission to Snapdeal for sales. The platform lets merchants list photos of their wares; they also can utilize a chat function to help communicate with buyers. Additionally, the company is looking to branch out into payments gateways.Bahl pointed to Alibabas Taobao model a consumer-to-consumer marketplace that relies on an online platform to facilitate transactions stating that we are just like them. In another partnership, Snapdeal partnered with Indias government to create a specialized, craft-focused marketplace in a format to push online transactions in that arena.To check out what else is HOT in the world of payments, click here.