It’s not just the behemoth Reliance Jio that Facebook has earmarked for investments in India.

New Delhi: It’s not just the behemoth Reliance Jio that Facebook has earmarked for investments in India. The American social-media giant eyes a bigger share of the burgeoning and lucrative Indian startup ecosystem as it looks at early-stage companies on the lines of its investments in social commerce platform Meesho and edtech enterprise Unacademy, both of whom have become unicorns.

“We will continue to look for investment opportunities in early-stage startups, and we are focused on backing innovative models that have the potential for growth not only in India, but can also be scaled up globally,” Ajit Mohan, Facebook India MD, told TOI.

Incidentally, both Meesho and Unacademy have attained the unicorn status, which would mean a windfall for Facebook’s investments. While Meesho was valued at $2.1 billion after its last funding round in April 2021, Unacademy was valued at $3.4 billion during its latest fund-raise this month.

Mohan said Facebook’s search for investments is “sector agnostic”, and thus it is open to look at younger companies across business categories. While the Facebook India MD refused to give details, it is believed that the company typically invests between $25 million and $50 million in an Indian startup.

In an India-only initiative, Facebook on Friday also launched a ‘small business loans initiative’ for companies that are present on its platforms to get quick access to credit through independent lending partners.

Through Facebook’s partnership with Indifi, small businesses can get loans between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 50 lakh at a pre-defined interest rate of 17-20% per annum and applicants will not be charged a processing fee by Indifi.

https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/corporate-news/facebook-eyes-indian-startups-for-investments/85558589