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Business News/ Companies / News/  Yuvraj Singh sets up firm to fund online start-ups
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Yuvraj Singh sets up firm to fund online start-ups

YouWeCan plans to invest `40-50 crore in online start-ups in next three-five years

A file photo of cricketer Yuvraj Singh. Photo: Mohd. Zakir/HTPremium
A file photo of cricketer Yuvraj Singh. Photo: Mohd. Zakir/HT

New Delhi: Cricketer Yuvraj Singh on Monday launched an investment company, YouWeCan Ventures Technology Llp, to support online start-ups, including e-commerce firms, to build brands and encourage entrepreneurship.

YouWeCan plans to invest 40-50 crore in online start-ups in the healthcare, travel, hospitality, real estate and media sectors in the next three-five years.

“Lots of young entrepreneurs had been approaching Yuvraj Singh for various online start-ups, seeking his support. Although he was watching the market closely, he wanted a professional team to be set in place," said Nishant Singhal, co-founder of YouWeCan Ventures.

Singhal, a chartered accountant (CA) who has worked with consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), has been Singh’s business advisor since 2010.

The investment company, run by a six-member team including CAs, technology experts and management consultants, will provide an initial seed fund of 10-25 lakh per transaction to young entrepreneurs.

“We will provide the initial seed fund to kick-start an idea and once there is proof of the concept, we will help them connect with other investors as well. We want to work like angel investors," said Singhal.

He said four-five investment deals are in advanced stages of discussion and likely to be announced in the next few months.

India’s top 20 online start-ups, including e-commerce firms, received around $3.5 billion (around 21,770 crore today) in private equity funding in 2014, according to Sandeep Ladda, leader (India technology sector) and partner at PwC.

“Significant investments are still expected in the online start-ups and e-commerce space," Ladda added.

Friends and associates of Singh, who will play for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament starting this month, have also committed to YouWeCan Ventures to make investments in the range of 250-300 crore over the next three-five years, said Singhal.

Online retailers and e-commerce firms are growing rapidly as the penetration of smartphones expands access to the Internet. The number of mobile Internet users in India is expected to reach 213 million by June 2015, a 23% jump over six months, according to the Mobile Internet in India 2014 report released in January.

There were 173 million mobile Internet users in India in December 2014, according to the report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International (a market research firm).

India’s e-commerce market is expected to reach $6 billion in 2015, a 70% increase over 2014’s revenue of $3.5 billion, according to a report by Gartner Inc. E-commerce currently represents less than 4% of the total retail market, the report found.

Singh has endorsed brands including Puma, Reebok, Hero MotoCorp, Oakleys, Ulysse Nardin and Fair & Handsome, among others. He has over 11.5 million fans across Facebook and Twitter.

The cricketer failed to find a place in the Indian team that played the February-March World Cup. Delhi Daredevils paid 16 crore to get Singh to play in the eighth edition of IPL. He played for KingsXI Punjab, Pune Warriors and Royal Challengers Bangalore franchises in the past seasons.

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Published: 07 Apr 2015, 12:39 AM IST
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