GIC and Northwest invest Rs 175 crore in Sulekha.com

GIC, the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore and Norwest Venture Partners have invested Rs 175 crore in Sulekha.com, an online listing website.
Sulekha.com, a digital platform for local services, will use this funding to expand the platform that connects users and local service providers, and invest in technology and branding.
Local businesses spend an estimated $2.5 billion in advertising across various media to capture $200 billion worth of local services bought in diverse categories.
“This investment by GIC and Norwest is an endorsement of the potential of the local services opportunity in India and Sulekha’s ability to prosecute it successfully,” said Satya Prabhakar, founder and CEO of Sulekha.com.
In 2011, Japan based Mitsui & Co invested $8 million and in 2007 Norwest invested $10 million in Sulekha.com. Indigo Monsoon also invested in Sulekha.com.
Last month, GIC established Euro 300 million partnership with Exeter Property Group, an industrial real estate investment management specialist.
“Sulekha has been enjoying significant organic growth while being quite capital efficient, making it one of only a few digital companies in India that have been profitable,” said Param Parameswaran, chairman of Sulekha.com.
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