Qwikcilver raises $10 million from Sistema, Accel India & others

BENGALURU: Gifting card solutions provider Qwikcilver has raised a new round of funding, pegged at $10 million (Rs 67 crore), led by Sistema Asia Fund, the proprietary fund of Russian conglomerate Sistema.

Other existing backers of the Bengaluru-based company, which include Amazon Asia-Pacific, Accel India and Helion Venture Partners, have also participated in the new round of funding.

Qwikcilver will use the funding to double the value of gift cards it sells to Rs 4,000 crore in the current fiscal year. The company is also eyeing international expansion to markets in Middle East, Southeast Asia and Australia, where it is currently tying up with brands and merchants.

While Qwikcilver declined to comment on the size of the round, one source said Sistema had pumped in Rs 30-40 crore while the rest came from existing investors.

"The commitment and pioneering role of Qwikcilver in establishing its strong leadership of the prepaid and gift card industry in India has been truly unique. The strong credentials and passionate team has helped build and grow a robust SaaS (software-as-a-service) product company in India," said Kirill Kozhevnikov, managing director of Insitel/Sistema Asia Fund Advisory, which also invested in enterprise software firm Seclore earlier this year out of its $50-million fund.