The great unicorn rush, that started with Digit Insurance this year, has covered diverse sectors from fintech to e-shopping and even cloud kitchen
India has produced more than three unicorns a month, on average, this year with the tally reaching 31 already. At this pace, 2021 could end with around 40 unicorns.
The great unicorn rush, that started with Digit Insurance this year, has covered diverse sectors from fintech to e-shopping and even cloud kitchen. On Thursday, Rebel Foods, which operates a network of cloud kitchen brands such as Fasoos and Behrouz Biryani, became the first to enter the unicorn club from the niche category that found its place during the pandemic.
What triggered the unicorn rush during 2021 really? While work-from-home during Covid pushed the growth of digital businesses in India, the phenomenon also resulted in a long unicorn list. Industry experts and investors said three factors — thriving digital payments ecosystem, larger smartphone user base, and digital-first business models — have come together to attract investors.
Anup Jain, managing partner, Orios Venture Partners, which has investments in unicorns such as PharmEasy, said: “Tech companies, which have become household brands, are contributing to the unicorn boom in India, as smartphone penetration and digitisation of commerce in every aspect of life has multiplied during the pandemic.”
In fact, growth in digital payment is reflected in the sector that has contributed the most to the unicorn list. From 2011, when India reported its first unicorn—Inmobi--till the end of 2020, India had six unicorns from the fintech list. This year has already seen seven fintechs joining the unicorn list. Besides fintech, SaaS (software as a service), e-commerce grocery and marketplace players are contributing the most to the unicorn universe. As for investors, Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital continued to rule the ecosystem.
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