WHAT happens when two friends with entrepreneurial fire in their belly join hands? It unfolds the path to the fastest growing e-commerce platform in India with a valuation of $3.9 billion. Sanjeev Barnwal and Vidit Aatrey, IIT-Delhi alumni, founded Meesho in 2015 to help small and medium companies build online presence. What started as a journey of going door to door to convince micro-entrepreneurs has become a venture that aids more than two million merchants on its platform.
“In 2015, e-commerce had branded products, being sold to Tier-1 customers. We were sure that existing models will not bring everyone, especially small businesses, online,” says Aatrey. Meesho’s e-commerce ecosystem enables small businesses to foray into online space. The target is primarily consumers from Tier-II cities and beyond. One of the pull factors is industry-first zero commission for sellers on the platform. Tech innovations, seller-friendly policies and asset-light structure have helped it emerge as the lowest-cost destination for small businesses. Losses shrunk 48% from ₹3,248 crore in FY22 to ₹1,675 crore in FY23. It remained cash flow positive in H1 of FY24. Total funding is $1.06 billion, according to Tracxn. The Bengaluru-based duo says pandemic forced sellers to recognise Meesho’s potential. They see huge opportunity as only 7% retail has moved to e-commerce in India. Their impact is evident in the fact that 10% of India’s population (more than 140 million) has made at least one transaction on the platform. In 2023, 150 million people, or unique transacting users, bought at least one product from Meesho.
In fact, according to data.ai, Meesho recorded 14.5 crore downloads in 2023, making it the most downloaded shopping app in India every day for nearly three years. — Urvashi Mishra