India mints startup unicorns, says Rakhecha
India’s two-year old startup ecosystem enabler, Marwari Catalysts or MCats, aims to raise US$4 million at a valuation of US$25 million to foray into new markets, the Jodhpur company said in a statement on 24 June 2021.
“The idea behind launching Marwari Catalysts was to provide a strong accelerator network and build a founder and investor friendly ecosystem as we believe that the main game relies on the founders and founding team,” said Sushil Sharma, Marwari Catalysts Founder and CEO.
“Accelerators are the key to growth. They play a vital role in the startup journey as they are the growth partners, not only in fund raising but leveraging technology, hand holding, mentorship, network opening and in market connect. Globally accelerators have helped startups such as AirBnB, DropBox and Reddit grow rapidly to billion dollar valuation. But the complicated affair is choosing the right accelerator at the right time,” he explained.
“India is minting startup unicorns at a record pace in 2021. And many more could be on the way to the billion-dollar-mark before the year wraps up,” added CA Devesh Rakhecha, an Ex-investment Banker and Founder & Director at Marwari Catalysts.
“So the global funds are keeping an eye towards India, signalling a positive sentiment in India’s rapidly evolving startup ecosystem. Today, as we enter the next stage of our evolution, we feel that the financing milestone will be a testimony to our journey of innovation and disruption.”
Thus, uplifting people and economies through entrepreneurship, MCats is looking to raise funds from Private Equity (PE), family funds, Ultra HNIs and renowned names from the startup ecosystem.
MCats, with a strong network across Tier II & Tier III cities, has previously closed with fund raising of US$1 million on a valuation of US$8 million. This round of funding was concluded by HNIs from India, Japan, Indonesia, the UK and the USA.
Also 60% of the portfolio companies have already raised their seed funding and are now ready for the Pre-series A Round. MCats have scaled up despite the pandemic giving stellar returns as one of its portfolio companies bags successful exit with 20X return.
With its focus on creating, building and nurturing the startup ecosystem and economic development in the untapped market of India’s Tier II/Tier III cities, MCats is a super specialised accelerator that has efficiently expanded its portfolio and has come up as a strong player to help promote community building and collaboration among the startup ecosystem, highly active across India.
The accelerator plans to use the raised funding to reinforce the current portfolio, accelerate the progress towards a digital and self-reliant India, enable global reach and engage more with growth stage startups while also offering mentorship and peripheral services.
On MCats’ potential in investing and creating high growth companies, Rachit Poddar, Co-founder & Gujarat Chapter Lead at Marwari Catalysts, said, “At MCats, we believe in leveraging our global relationships to make India as the key global startup ecosystem hub and create long term wealth for all direct and indirect stakeholders. Our vision truly stands to be a bridge between India and our beloved nations, create exceptional relationships and build a sustainable ecosystem.”
With a passion towards professional community building, Richa Sharma, a woman entrepreneur and Co-founder at Marwari Catalysts, elaborated, “MCats has always focused on having a dedicated platform to empower women who are trying to break the glass ceiling by being a part of this startup ecosystem. End result being, approx 40% of our portfolio startups today are led by women Co-founders. Keeping the momentum going and promoting women leadership, MCats aims to provide a window of opportunity with this fundraise to activate more women startup founders or investors and come up with changes for our industry for the better.”
Being highly optimistic about MCats’ action agenda for growth, Raunak Singhvi, Co-founder at Marwari Catalysts & Head – Thrive, says, “Building on what we did over the past 2 years, we are committed to be a catalyst and a partner in unlocking the possibilities for a digital India and MCats sits at the right juncture to enable acceleration while fueling innovation and economy in India.”
The startup investment revolution started by MCats in 2019, completed its two years on 24 June 2021.
MCats said it is now open for strategic partnership with Angel networks, HNIs, Family funds, VC and PE funds for further integration. It has grown to a family of 30+ startups and represents a club of 80 co-founders.
Summing up, Sharma underlined, “Marwari Catalysts purely as an accelerator is now open for its backward integration with global incubators and forward alignment with Angel networks, HNIs, Family funds, VC and PE funds. Let’s connect and explore because the only growth strategy that matters is collaboration.” #investment #unicorns #startups #digital #funding #banking /fiinews.com
