Bangalore-based startup HappyCredit raises Rs 5 cr in pre-seed round

Bangalore-based startup HappyCredit - an instant cashback rewards application, has raised Rs 5 crore in a pre-seed round to accelerate its growth. The funding round saw participation from Kunal Shah (CEO, CRED), Krishna Kumar (CEO, Simplilearn) as well as US and Canada-based investors like Goodwater Capital, Magic Fund, MyAsiaVC, Alex Lin (CEO, Outlier), Jeremy Cai (CEO, Italic), Chris Ye (CEO, Uken Games), Saad Siddiqui (CEO, Bonsai), Andrew Ladouceur (COO, Bonsai), Charlie Feng (Co-founder, Clearco) amongst others.

The fresh funds will be used to launch new products, build talent and enhance the company’s growth.

The Indian e-commerce market is growing substantially, with the total market size expected to reach $188 billion by 2025. The pandemic and "Digital India" programme has further accelerated this trend, giving an impetus to online shopping.

Jitendra Kumar, co-founder, HappyCredit, said, "We wanted to provide consumers with a one-stop shopping destination wherein they are rewarded for making a purchase. The new funding will help scale up our business and reach a bigger Bharat audience."

Founded by Jitendra Kumar and Ashish Virmani, HappyCredit is a one-stop online shopping app that offers shoppers rewards, credit, and shopping inspiration. HappyCredit was founded in October 2020.The company launched its rewards product 'Aishback' in the market earlier this year. Aishback is a  form of usual cashback rewards because it's instant and can be transferred to the bank directly.

Ashish Virmani, co-founder, HappyCredit, further added, "Cashback and rewards are a significant part of the e-commerce ecosystem, and with HappyCredit, we want to make the process a seamless affair. In the coming months, we are looking at launching a checkout finance product as well."

Currently, the HappyCredit app has over 50 e-commerce merchant brands on its platform, such as Flipkart, Myntra, Ajio, Mama Earth, to name a few. The app has also received over 50,000 downloads on the Google Play store. The company is planning to launch new credit products, scale the user base to 1.5 million in the next 12 months and also expand its platform to offline retailers.

“The Indian e-commerce industry is poised for growth with strong young demography, increasing internet and smartphone penetration. We are excited about HappyCredit’s potential at the intersection of e-commerce, rewards and credit, and the strength of the founding team,” said Vivek Subramanian, partner, Goodwater capital.