NowFloats, MA Network portfolio company acquired by Reliance Industries Arm for INR 142 crores

Mumbai Angels Network portfolio company NowFloats acquired by Reliance Industries Arm for INR 142 crores December 14, 2019: Nowfloats, a Mumbai Angels Network (MA Network) portfolio company has got acquired by Reliance Industries. MA Network Investors were the first to invest in Nowfloats in 2013. The initial investment was followed by multiple rounds by existing MA investors, joined by institutional investors - Iron Pillar, IIFL, Blume Ventures and Omidyar Network. NowFloats, founded in 2012 by Jasminder Singh Gulati, Neeraj Sabharwal, Nitin Jain and Ronak Kumar Samantray, develops cloud-first products that let busines provide better digital experiences to their customers from a mobile phone without the need for a computer at a fraction of the cost. They approach every business category individually, and their products are used by big brand names recognised by the small store in the local market. Regarding the transaction, Mumbai Angels Investor and Committee Member at NowFloats, Anil Joshi commented: “We are proud to have been a part of NowFloats journey so far. I am sure NowFloats will touch the sky with the new investor on-board”. Anirudh Damani, Mumbai Angels Investor added: “We were the first investors in NowFloats. We are happy to see the company grow and wish them the very best in their journey from here on with a partner like Reliance Industries.”   Nandini Mansinghka, Co-Promoter and CEO of Mumbai Angels Network said, “NowFloats is one of our early bets in Enterprise businesses. We are excited that one of our early portfolio companies has been acquired by a large strategic player in the Indian ecosystem. As the premier network for venture investing in India, our focus is always on growth and exits rather than investments.” About Mumbai Angels Network: Started in 2006, Mumbai Angels Network (MA Network) is India’s premier platform focused on new venture investing. The network is today 400+ members strong, across 8 chapters (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Goa, Pune and Jaipur). It has a 135+ strong portfolio with 30+ exits and has invested 150+ crores.

PURPLLE, a Mumbai Angels (MA) Network Company, raises $30mn, led by Goldman Sachs

PURPLLE,  a Mumbai Angels (MA) Network Company, raises $30mn, led by Goldman Sachs December 14, 2019: Purplle, a Mumbai Angels Network portfolio company,  has raised a Series C round from global investment bank Goldman Sachs along with  few existing investors. Purplle, founded in 2012 by Rahul Dash and Manish Taneja, is an online marketplace for users to shop for beauty, cosmetics, skin and hair care products. Purplle also has its own private label called StayQuirky. Manish Taneja, co-founder at Purplle said, "Mumbai Angels investors were the initial investors to demonstrate  confidence in our venture. With continued mentorship of our investors, we diversified into unique brands. This latest round capital will be used to strengthen the supply chain and invest in digital content” Gita Nayyar, Mumbai Angels Investor, said, “We invested at a very  early stage with Purplle. It was great to be involved as a board observer and engaged investor, guiding them in the early days and watching the brand grow. I am delighted to see their continued efforts as a potential unicorn” Nandini Mansinghka, Co-Promoter and CEO of Mumbai Angels Network said,  “Purplle is a star in our diversified portfolio. We as a network are very bullish on the India consumer story and are happy that our early investment in Purplle has proven our hypothesis right. We wish Purplle the very best in its journey ahead.”  About Mumbai Angels Network: Started in 2006, Mumbai Angels Network (MA Network) is India’s premier platform focused on new venture investing. The network is today 400+ members strong, across 8 chapters (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Goa, Pune and Jaipur). It has a 135+ strong portfolio with 30+ exits and has invested 150+ crores.

Dhruva Space raised collective funding of INR 5 Crores from Mumbai Angels Network & other external Angel Investors

Dhruva Space raised collective funding of INR 5 Crores from Mumbai Angels Network & other external Angel Investors December 3, 2019: Dhruva Space, a private Space company, has raised a collective angel funding of INR 5 Crores from Mumbai Angels Network and other external angel investors.  Dhruva founded by Abhay Egoor,  Krishna Teja , Sanjay Srikanth in 2014, is based out of Hyderabad that enables privatization of space assets by enabling corporate to build, launch and track constellation of small satellites. 37 investors of the Mumbai Angels Network, across all its chapters, have participated in this round. The Deal was led by Ravikanth Reddy, Managing Director, Hotcrete private limited. “I'm backing Dhruva because of their cutting edge satellite & communications technology and a strong founding team. Space is a sector that will be an integral part of many critical applications in the future. I will advise them from time to time and provide relevant contacts to help them grow,” said Reddy. Commenting on the fundraise, Co-founder Sanjay Nekkanti said, “It was a pleasure working with MA towards our first fund raise. The support extended by the entire MA team has been phenomenal. They were diligent and thoroughly professional throughout the process. Looking forward to working with them and benefit from their experience” Nandini Mansinghka, Co-Promoter and CEO of Mumbai Angels Network said, “We are excited about raising funds for Dhruva Space, the first space tech start-up in our portfolio. We see a strong wave in space start-ups both from the number of companies approaching us for investments and investors keen to invest in this space. We are extremely bullish about participating in this industry defining the near future.” About Mumbai Angels Network: Started in 2006, Mumbai Angels Network (MA Network) is India’s premier platform focused on new venture investing. The network is today 400+ members strong, across 8 chapters (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Goa, Pune and Jaipur). It has a 135+ strong portfolio with 30+ exits and has invested 150+ crores. About Dhruva Space: Dhruva Space provides end to end solutions from building small satellites, making ground sensors, launching them and monitoring the same via earth stations. The company is working with ISRO and European Space Agency (ESA). The company has been awarded a grant from European Space Agency (ESA) for 50,000 Euros. Once they set up an entity in Austria and do the other necessary formality as part of the agreement, they will be able to access the grant.

We are now in Jaipur!

Mumbai Angels Network is growing with its 8th chapter in Jaipur, home to 3.5 million people and over 200 startups making it ripe for angel investors to pool in their resources and expertise to these budding entrepreneurs. “Mumbai Angels Network with its network of 400+ members is already present in 7 key cities in India and has members from across 25 cities both Indian and Global. We are excited to open our 8th chapter in Jaipur which is a testimonial of the entrepreneurial spirit of the investors in Rajasthan,”  Nandini Mansinghka, Co-founder and CEO, Mumbai Angels Network.

Minkspay raises funding from Mumbai Angels Network

Minkspay raises funding from Mumbai Angels Network September 26, 2019: Minkspay, a payment solutions company for rural markets raises funding from Mumbai Angels Network (MA Network), India’s premier platform for venture investing. Headquartered in Goa, Minkspay was founded in 2017, by Sanket  Shendure and Sanmati Shendure. MinksPay is focused on solving problems of small retail stores based out of rural areas by providing them seamless payment acceptance solution and financial inclusion services. This is the first investment in a Goa based  start-up by Mumbai Angels Network. Commenting on the fund raise, Founder & CEO Sanket Shendure said, “We are proud that MA Network has partnered with us and supports our vision to be India’s leading payment solutions company focused on the retail market. We look forward to working closely with Mumbai Angels Network to grow Minkspay as a front runner fintech and payments solutions company in the next few years.” Mumbai Angels is the first external investor in the company. 10 of the network’s investors have participated in this round from across chapters. The investment is led by Vishal Chiripal, Director, Tripoli Management Pvt.Ltd. “ I am backing Minkspay both because of its scalable business model and its strong founding team. I see the rural payment services targeting consumers from Bharat as a key growth area and are looking forward to working closely with the Minkspay team to grow their business” said Vishal. “Our investment in Minkspay backs our philosophy in supporting innovation in the fintech and the payments solutions space. We see a lot of interest in this sector both from the next round financial investor and larger corporates in the banking and financial services space. With our investment in Minkspay we have also opened our account of investing in Goa based start-ups and expect many more companies to get funded from the state. ” said MA Network CEO & MD, Nandini Mansinghka. About Mumbai Angels Network: Started in 2006, Mumbai Angels Network (MA Network) is India’s premier platform focused on new venture investing. The network is today 400+ members strong, across 7 chapters (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Goa and Pune). It has a 130+ strong portfolio with 30+ exits and has invested 150+ crores. About Minkspay Minkspay is a digital platform which empowers offline rural retail stores with seamless payment acceptance and cross sell multiple digital & financial services to their nearby customers. Our mission is to onboard more than a million stores from rural areas on this platform and convert them into Micro Banking (Aadhaar Banking) outlets for distribution of banking and financial services to unbanked and unreached Indians. We are a team of 15 people passionate about building financial inclusion products for Bharat.

CBA Ventures & Mumbai Angels Network announce strategic partnership

CBA Ventures & Mumbai Angels Network announce strategic partnership  CBA Ventures (CBAV) and Mumbai Angels Network (MA Network) have announced their strategic partnership to create a corridor of opportunities for Indian and Korean start-ups into the Asian and European Markets. CBA Ventures’ global acceleration program is designed to promote investment, rapid growth, and achieve international commercialization for promising startups that have a focus towards global opportunities. MA Network is the premier investment platform for investing in startups in India. Through this alliance, MA and CBAV will work together to enable the start-ups in Mumbai Angels’ portfolio to expand into Korea, other South-East Asian Markets and Europe. The two partners will also work towards showcasing Korean start-ups and growth stage companies to the Indian market, investors and potential partners.                [From Left to Right] Nandini Mansinghka - CEO & MD, Mumbai Angels Network ; Devang Oza - India Head, CBA Ventures    Regarding the MOU signed with Mumbai Angels, CBA Ventures Director, Mr Dongwook Suh, commented: “We are extremely proud and excited to be joining hands with Mumbai Angels. This promising opportunity only strengthens our mutual commitment to connecting our client's companies to international markets so they can thrive, and today’s announcement is a further endorsement of the strategy both companies have in place for building scale within the global market and providing a better service offering for our clients." "Our synergistic relationship with Mumbai Angles provides CBAV with an important link to India, which is the fastest growing major economy and the third largest startup base in the world, and compliments agreements we already have in place with other robust Asian markets in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan." Nandini Mansinghka, CEO and MD at Mumbai Angels Network says, “ We are excited to partner with CBA Ventures. With this alliance we are adding yet another avenue for our portfolio companies to  become market leaders, expanding into the growing South Asian Markets across industries. As the premier network for venture investing in India, our focus is always on growth and exits rather than investments. We also look forward to introducing cutting edge Korean companies to our investors looking to invest in international startups and connecting these companies to our portfolio companies and other potential business partners. About Mumbai Angels Network: Started in 2006, Mumbai Angels Network (MA Network) is India’s premier platform focused on new venture investing. The network is today 400+ members strong, across 7 chapters (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Goa and Pune). It has a 130+ strong portfolio with 30+ exits and has invested 150+ crores. About CBA: Founded in 1971, Cross Border Associates AG (CBA) has evolved into a global network of affiliates with a diverse set of services catering to a wide range of corporate needs, with specific expertise and emphasis on the provision of financial and corporate organisational and consulting services, as well as corporate formation and business development. CBA Ventures was founded in March 2018 and proudly registered as the 103rd member of the Accelerator Registration & Support Program run by the Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Since then, CBA Ventures has focused on expanding its business reach around the country and begun its long mission to invest and incubate startups, as well as nurturing them towards becoming global-minded companies. The company provides a wide range of services towards promising clients seeking to enter the global market, including investment, local networking, and advanced consultation.