NoBroker.com raises $51 million in Series C funding led by General Atlantic

Tech based Brokerage-free Real Estate platform, NoBroker.com announced that it has raised $51 million in Series C Funding led by General Atlantic and included participation from existing investors SAIF Partners and BEENEXT. This brings the total funding raised by NoBroker to $71 million. The platform aims to transform the online real estate industry by improving user experience and making transactions more convenient and affordable. It already has more than 25 lakh properties registered and more than 60 lakh individuals have used NoBroker services. 

Sharad Bhojnagarwala, Vice President, General Atlantic, said, “We have been extremely impressed by the strength of the NoBroker team and their relentless focus on using technology to create an improved user experience in the large real estate market in India. We look forward to supporting them in their journey of making real estate transactions easier and convenient.” 

The platform had started as product that sought to improve the experience for customers in residential leasing and expanded to residential resale and commercial properties. It also launched Home Store services which is a one-stop shop for the services that are required for a customer while completing a real estate transaction including loans, packers and movers, legal documentation, amongst others. 

The platform aims to use the new funds to expand its operations. "This current funding round will support us in our plans to expand our operations. Our objective is to accelerate customer and deal-closure growth and continue to deliver value to customers across the country. We will also invest in our home store and financial services products," said Amit Kumar, CEO and Co-Founder of NoBroker.com. 

source:- https://www.zeebiz.com/small-business/news-nobrokercom-raises-51-million-in-series-c-funding-led-by-general-atlantic-101368

Agarwal Packers and Movers launches mobile apps for its customers, potential partners

APML Sathi will help create new entrepreneurs on its platform while APML Suvidha will help its customers avail moving and other facilities on their smartphones.

Agarwal Packers and Movers Limited launched two mobile applications last week -- APML Suvidha and APML Sathi -- to equip its customers and onboard new partners, respectively.

The two mobile apps were launched in New Delhi by Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari, in the presence of other dignitaries, including Y.S. Malik (Secretary of Ministry of Road Transport & Highways) and Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog, Jagdish Mittal, Major General Deepak Sapra (SM), Lt. General V.K. Chaturvedi (AVSM), Commodore Gangesh Kumar and Pradeep Singhal.

Agarwal Packers and Movers Limited has more than 100 branches pan India and covers 1,264 destinations in the country and 182 countries worldwide. According to the company, so far, it has shifted over 17.45 lakh customers worldwide.

The APML Sathi app will give people an opportunity to be an entrepreneur on the platform of one of the largest movers and packers businesses in the country, with special focus on ex-Defense veterans. On the occasion, Ramesh Agarwal, APML mentor, said, "as APML is the largest moving company, the responsibility falls on me to take steps to penetrate deeper into the country and reach the remotest areas with basic moving facilities."

On one hand, "APML Sathi is APML's earnest endeavour to provide an opportunity to all, empowering particularly Army veterans and unemployed youth to be an entrepreneur and earn their living with love and respect," a statement from the company at the time of the launch read.

source:- http://www.forbesindia.com/article/forbes-india-billboard/agarwal-packers-and-movers-launches-mobile-apps-for-its-customers-potential-partners/49529/1

A ‘small’ change among millennials, a big transformation in packers and movers biz

Shipment sizes have shrunk with the proliferation of e-devices

The millennials could be doing some heavy lifting generally, but when it comes to relocating, they are definitely travelling light. Start-ups operating in the movers and packers space who get most of their relocating clients through the online portals say the size of the baggage of millennials is a fraction of the size of those belonging to the previous generation.

And the primary driver of this trend is technology, which has shrunk bulky music systems and racks of CDs into mobile phones or ipods, and stacks of books into Kindles. A shorter product lifecycle is another reason with items such as cars, sofas and TVs losing their lifetime-possession tag.

Increased mobility to pursue studies and employment opportunities is also acting as a catalyst.

“The average size of packages has shrunk over the years. People only move the essentials — clothes, furniture and some other products. We don’t see much of books. We also don’t see movement of music systems,” Atul Mithal, Founder and CEO, ShiftKarado, told BusinessLine. Most of the clients of ShiftKarado are in the 20-30 years age bracket — single-person household or couples, or a family with a single child at the most.

Mithal, Chairman of StarWorldwide Group, a company that specialises in shifting products globally for clients such as the IMF, the UN and the World Bank, started ShiftKarado eyeing the movers and packers market within India, specifically those looking for no-frills or ‘budget shifting’. ShiftKarado wants to be the Indigo (airline) of the packers and movers market, Mithal said.

ShiftKarado estimates the packers and movers market in the country to be in the range of ₹10,000-15,000 crore a year. In the one-and-a-half years since Mithal started ShiftKarado, the company has found enough momentum in the market to expand its service to 50 cities.

source:- https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/a-small-change-among-millennials-a-big-transformation-in-packers-and-movers-biz/article26847744.ece