This is the third time Flipkart is investing in Ninjacart.
It first invested an undisclosed amount in the Bengaluru-based startup in 2019
and then put around $30 million more in it late last year with Walmart.
The deal would peg Ninjacart’s valuation at $750-800 million
compared with $500 million in its previous round and that the funding round
could get stretched over to more than $100 million, says source.
The deal comes at a time when Flipkart has plans to scale
its 90-minute online grocery business — Flipkart Quick — to 200 cities by the
end of 2022. The Ninjacart investment will also be leveraged by Flipkart to
strengthen its wider grocery offering Supermart.
“With this investment, we are further able to strengthen our
grocery footprint and offering as consumers across the country throng to
e-grocery for quality and affordable options in the fresh category,” said
Kalyan Krishnamurthy, chief executive, Flipkart Group. “Our investment and
partnership in Ninjacart over the years is a testament to the continued
commitment and success we have seen in our endeavour to create a democratic and
organised agriculture market.”
Founded in 2015, Ninjacart currently operates in seven
cities including Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi and Mumbai. The
company procures fresh fruits and vegetables directly from farmers and supplies
to retailers, hotels, restaurants and even apartment complexes.
“The funds will enable us to dream beyond organising the
farmer-to-retailer ecosystem to a much larger goal of organising the complete
agri ecosystem and enabling transparent commerce,” said Thirukumaran Nagarajan,
cofounder and CEO, Ninjacart.
Flipkart is scaling its grocery business at a time when it
faces competition from the likes of Reliance Industries' JioMart, Amazon India,
Tata-owned BigBasket besides quick commerce players like Swiggy’s Instamart,
Dunzo Daily and new entrant Zepto.
Flipkart said it offers grocery in 1,800 cities and towns
and plans to take it to around 2,000 more towns by the middle of next year.
The company said fresh fruits and vegetables will be an
integral part of the expansion, with it investing in technology capabilities to
offer better services to users. Flipkart said it is also working to bring
efficiencies in the community e-grocery shopping model.