07 Sep 2017

GoFro nabs more cash from MakeMyTrip and others, heads to Japan

Indian online holiday marketplace GoFro has confirmed MakeMyTrip as one of the participants in a Series B round worth more than $10 million.

The round has yet to close, with other investors in talks to participate.

MakeMyTrip was one of the earliest investors in the business via its Innovation Fund. GoFro was founded and launched in 2015 by Amitabh Misra, formerly CTO for Snapdeal, one of India’s leading e-commerce players. Reports suggest that MakeMyTrip’s initial investment in 2015 was $5 million and that it maintains a majority stake in the business.

Also taking part in the Series B is Japanese travel group HIS, whose assets include some 300 travel agencies in Japan and another 230 around the world. Akira Hirabayashi, vice chairman, said: “The GoFro platform is globally scalable and we look forward to taking this revolution to the Japanese market.”

Elsewhere, Deep Kalra, group CEO for MakeMyTrip said: “Through its superior technology, GoFro has the potential to bring hundreds of branded products under one umbrella to organise this fragmented market.”

GoFro’s online holiday marketplace sells customizable and fixed packages from suppliers such as Yatra, TUI India and MakeMyTrip itself. It offers call center support from experts and earns commissions on all packages sold.

Coverage of the deal in the India business pages says that the business is currently taking 1000 bookings a month with a gross transaction value in the region of $1 million.