eBay India spins off Kijiji following Matrix Partners investment

Investment firm Matrix Partners India has invested an undisclosed amount in eBay's online classified property Kijiji.in

Kijiji, the online classified ads website owned by eBay, has received an undisclosed financial investment from the venture capital firm Matrix Partners India. Kijiji will be jointly owned by both companies.

For Kijiji, the partnership means an expansion, with the aid of Matrix Partners' experience in the Indian market. Deepa Thomas, senior manager, corporate communications, eBay India, says, “The Kijiji partnership enables eBay to focus on growing its core business -- the eBay India marketplace and the eBay India Motors marketplace (http://b2bmotors.eBay.in) -- and the nascent eCommerce market. Kijiji is going to be a standalone business – it will operate independently. Kijiji will now look at developing a larger team and further expansion.” eBay India Motors Marketplace is a B2B service for the sale of second-hand vehicles in India.

eBay India spins off Kijiji following Matrix Partners investment

Kijiji.in - the website

“Our investment in Kijiji India demonstrates our continued focus on early stage investing, in addition to our growth stage focus. We have been following the early success of Kijiji with small businesses and local communities with great interest and look forward to working with the start up team to scale its offerings and successfully grow the business,” said Avnish Bajaj, co-founder and MD, Matrix Partners India, in a statement.

Matrix Partners' co-founder, Avnish Bajaj was formerly eBay India's chairman. Bajaj also co-founded Bazee.com, which was later sold to eBay.

Kijiji is a classified ads website, which currently operates on an advertising model that serves sponsored listings through Google ads. The site lets users post classified ads for free in verticals such as automobiles, jobs, real estate, matrimony and events.

Kijiji also has community features in the form of discussion boards where people can share information with members. Kijiji is present in 12 cities in India including Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Kochi, Mysore and Pune, apart from the four metros.

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