Indore-based startup EngineerBabu raises Rs 1 crore from Scale Ventures

AHMEDABAD: Indore-based startup EngineerBabu has raised Rs 1 crore from Scale Ventures. The company, which is into IT services including developing websites and mobile-based applications, plans to use the funds to turn into a business-to-business marketplace for IT services and help connect international companies with local IT service providers.

Scale Ventures was founded by former CEO of Indianroots Rahul Narvekar, founder of Rathi Strategic Ventures Nilesh Rathi and Ritesh Malik. EngineerBabu is its first investment. "We are not just a platform to connect the clients but will be also facilitating the entire communication thread so that there is smooth execution of the project," said Aditi Chaurasia, co-founder of EngineerBabu.

She said that the pain point being addressed by the company is the trust and communication gap between local IT solution providers and international companies.

EngineerBabu was founded in 2014 by Chaurasia and two friends, Mayank Pratap Singh and Avdhesh Pratap Solanki. Starting from a small 500 sq feet office and 12 employees, it has moved into an 1,800 sq feet office based in the centre of Indore city and has 42 employees. "We scaled up without any funding till this stage," Chaurasia said.

"We have identified that they have unique quality as an entrepreneur and they not only need a bit of funding but also guidance to scale up to national and then international level," said Rahul Narvekar, co-founder Scale Ventures.

The fund recently acquired the portfolio of Delhi-based Guerrilla Ventures. According to Scale Ventures and EngineerBabu, the money will be used for developing the platform for the domestic market and for international expansion, as the company plans to enter the United States, Japan, China and Saudi Arabia.