The Bangalore-based e-commerce firm Flipkart, which has been fighting cashflow issues and a resultant retrenchments, has raised $200 million from its existing investors–Naspers, Accel and Tiger Global. The funds will be used for building and strengthening Flipkart's technology capabilities, bolstering the robust supply chain and developing the talent pool, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Announcing the development, Flipkart.com co-founder and chief executive Sachin Bansal said, "with this investment, we can now take Flipkart to the next level, pioneering technology and supply-chain innovations that will change the face of online shopping."
This will not only enable the company to reach its goal of USD 1 billion gross merchandise volume by 2015 but also help it achieve bigger milestones in the future, he added. "Each round of funding has come at a strategic point during our growth. Our aim is to continuously improve the shopping experience for customers and provide sellers with a highly scalable platform on which to do business," co-founder and chief operating officer Binny Bansal said. Flipkart claims it has 96 lakh registered users with more than 10 lakh unique visitors every day. It has added new categories such as apparel, footwear, toys, accessories, sports and fitness, and eBooks to its offerings. At present it offers products in over 17 categories.
