NoBroker earmarks Rs 150 cr to take its society-tech app to 50 new cities

Online real estate platform provider NoBroker on Tuesday said it has set aside Rs 150 crore expansion of its society living management business, NoBrokerHood, to 50 new cities across India by June 2021.

The move, building on the Bengaluru-based startup’s post-Covid19 growth trajectory, expands from existing 11 cities of operation. 

The app, a statement said, will optimize the residential living experience in about 100,000 housing societies across cities such as Surat, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Raipur, Lucknow, and Vizag.

Since its launch, NoBrokerHood has enabled several new features for the contactless environment prevailing due to Covid-19. Touchless entry uses facial recognition to detect residents and frequent visitors such as domestic helps, drivers, and other staff. The app also comes with a health tracker feature, integrated with Aarogya Setu, to optimize physical distancing efforts at individual level.

The app has experienced nearly eight fold growth over the last 4-5 months, growing from less than 700 societies in March, to 6,000 societies now, the statement added.

When the Covid-19 lockdowns were first implemented in India, NoBrokerHood launched grocery storefronts, in partnership with companies such as BigBasket and ITC, to help people procure daily essentials in societies registered on the platform.

“This cross between world-class technology, customer-centric thought, and service enablement is why we have received an enthusiastic consumer response since its launch in 2018... Our decision to expand its geographical presence is built on this solid reception,” NoBroker CEO Amit Agarwal said.

With over 200,000 societies in India, the company is optimistic about the growth in the space, the statement added. It acquired Society Connect in February, to integrate the financial module with its services on NoBrokerHood.

The parent organisation, NoBroker Technologies was founded in 2013 by IIT-Kanpur and IIM-A graduate Agarwal, IIT-B and IIM-A graduate Saurabh Garg and IIT-B graduate Akhil Gupta.

Watch: Real estate downturn boon for online property platforms: Amit Agarwal, NoBroker

NoBroker is a technology enabled brokerage-free real estate platform that has over 10 million registered users across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi-National Capital Region. 

The company last raised a $30 million top-up from returning investor General Atlantic, in April.