Mobile-first offline deals app Niffler raises $1M from SAIF Partners

Mumbai-based Niffler Labs Pvt Ltd which owns and operates, a mobile-first startup which offers deals from offline players, has raised $1 million in a seed round of funding from early stage investor SAIF Partners.

The money will be used for expansion and technology enhancement.

The startup was founded in 2014 by three IITians—Edul Patel, Prince Arora and Viraj Shah. It offers customers deals from offline merchants across categories, including food and drinks, spas and salons, apparel and home décor.

It claims to have 3,000 plus active offers listed across over 15,000 stores, including brands such as McDonald's, Ammi's Biryani, Birdys, Cafe Moshes and Four Fountains De-Stress Spa.

At present, there are 300 outlets in Mumbai that offer Niffler-exclusive discounts, the firm said.

The app provides a personalised experience where users are notified of new offers from brands as soon as they go live. It learns from a user's habits and offers curated deals based on items that a user likes. When users are near a store offering a deal or have just walked into a mall, the best deals available for them pops up on their phones.

"We see immense potential in an app like Niffler that optimises the mobile platform to influence sale at offline stores. Their aim is to build the mobile-powered information superhighway, connecting brick and mortar stores with consumers. There has been a significant uptick in appetite for businesses that connect offline businesses to consumers via mobile and we are certain that Niffler will scale tremendously in the days ahead," said Mukul Singhal, principal, SAIF Partners.

"The seed funding from SAIF Partners not only bolsters our business confidence but will also enable us to drive more innovation through technology-based investments," said Viraj Shah, co-founder, Niffler.

It is present in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi NCR, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

The app is currently available for Android on Google Play and is going to be launched soon on iOS.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)