Indian fashion e-tailer Myntra tipped to raise $25m to scale up its operations

Indian fashion e-tailer service Myntra is reportedly set to gain an additional $25 million in investment to help it scale up and increase its reach among young Internet savvy consumers among the country’s 1.2 billion population.

According to a Times of India report, existing Myntra investors Accel (which owns a stake in Facebook) and Tiger Global Management are preparing to close a new round of funding for the Internet startup, which sells al manner of fashion items and has raised $38 million to date.

The same two investors recently ploughed more than $100 million into Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart — which competes with Amazon — and are once again looking to give another of the country’s standout online retailers an opportunity to expand and grow its presence.

Despite the rumour, Myntra co-founder Mukesh Bansal told the Times that the firm was not looking to raise fresh investment for another 10-12 months.

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India’s Internet space is one with sizeable potential, as Internet penetration remains below 10 percent. Smartphones and mobile devices are tipped to help spread the benefits of the Web. Data from Statcounter suggests that Internet traffic from mobile devices could overtake fixed-line access before the end of the year, giving more Indians the chance to go online with greater regularity.

That opportunity also appeals to firms outside of India, who are tipped to enter the market to rival the local players, giving some logic to a push for new funding.

Amazon recently took its first step into Indian cyber space with the launch of Junglee, which is expected to be followed by a full scale e-commerce store this year. Walmart is another firm that has been linked with a jump into the space, and the US retail giant already has plans for an innovation centre in the country.

Feature image via Shutterstock / Rangizzz