Facebook, Sequoia invest in India-based startup Meesho

Meesho is what’s known in the tech industry as a social commerce startup, allowing people to build connections online and then sell through services such as Facebook and its WhatsApp and Instagram services.

Meesho is part of the new wave of ecommerce companies that are trying to take advantage of social connections to facilitate sales. The startup says that it has a network of more than 2 million social sellers in 700 towns across India, focusing on categories like apparel, wellness, and electronics.

The funding round was led by South Africa-based Naspers and also included Sequoia, Shunwei Capital, Venture Highway, and Arun Sarin. Naspers has a history of backing startups in China and India. It invested in Tencent and Flipkart, and it led a USD 1 billion funding round in the India-based online food company Swiggy in December 2018. Naspers shares have risen 23% in 2019, valuing the company at about USD 98 billion.