Re-commerce platform for used gadgets ReGlobe raises seed funding from Bessemer, Blume

Gurgaon-based Manak Waste Management Pvt Ltd, which runs a used gadgets' exchange service called ReGlobe, has secured seed funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) and Blume Ventures, it said on Wednesday.

Founded in 2009 by Nakul Kumar and Mandeep Manocha, it provides an online platform to customers to sell their old or used electronic gadgets like old laptops, mobile phones and tablets. The devices so procured are refurbished and sold in the second hand market through a dealer network.

On the ReGlobe.in platform, users can get a quote for their product within 24 hours, and the company also picks it from the consumer's home.

Currently, ReGlobe caters to 14 cities in India—Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida, Ghaziabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Baroda, Chennai, Secunderabad and Hyderabad serving over 5,500 pin-codes. It aims to expand to 30 cities.

"The second-hand goods market grew by 3x in 2014. The funding comes at a strategic time to enable us to scale up on several fronts and take our proposition to more users," said Nakul Kumar, co-founder, ReGlobe.

"The business has multiple opportunities to expand, and we anticipate that ReGlobe will disrupt the re-commerce space," said Aakash Goel, vice president at Bessemer Partner Ventures.

Karthik Reddy, co-founder and managing partner, Blume Ventures, said: "Their current mobile and laptop resale business is set to expand rapidly to all of the country and multiple product categories. We think they can build the largest organised player in this space in India."

Other players in the re-commerce space include Overcart and GreenDust. It also partly competes with p2p classifieds ventures such as Quikr and OLX.

In October 2013, Snapdeal entered into a partnership with ReGlobe and introduced ReGlobe on its portal through which consumers could sell their used mobile phones, tablets and laptops in exchange for hard cash.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)