Digital book-keeping and accounting app for SMEs in India, Khatabook has today announced the onboarding of M.S. Dhoni, the legendary Indian cricketer and world-cup winning captain, as an investor into the company. And while MSD (as he is popularly known) invests in Khatabook, he will also become the official brand ambassador for the app.
The startup, last year in September, had raised a $25 Million round from a slew of marquee investors. Investors in that Series A round included GGV Capital, Partners of DST Global, RTP Global, Sequoia India, Tencent and Y Combinator.
Commenting on this new association, Dhoni said, “There are many new-age companies in the country, only a few like Khatabook, are making a difference at the grassroots level. Having grown up in small-town India, I saw friends and family struggle with outdated modes of doing business and tracking finances.”
He further added, that it is the ‘outsized’ impact that Khatabook has had on the lives of Indian merchants, that convinced him to invest. “I am very excited to join them at a crucial point in their journey, as they work towards achieving their goal of transforming the way India does business,” he added.
Khatabook currently claims to have over 100 million active merchants online, with over $180 billion worth of transactions recorded so far, thus making it the largest such player in this extremely lucrative sector. Khatabook is aiming to onboard another 2 crore merchants over the next 12 months. The firm plans to use the proceeds from the latest equity investment to expand its product portfolio and double down on its technology and capabilities.
The raised money could also go into its plans of developing its NBFC arm. The company was among a slew of other new-age fintech startups to have received an NBFC license form the Reserve Bank of India.
