Indian e-commerce sector has been in the news for attracting huge funds from global investors. Olacabs – a cab-booking service provider co-founded by a Mumbai IITian – recently won a $210 million (Rs 1,280 crore) investment from the Japanese telecom giant SoftBank.
Launched three years ago, Olacabs’ revenue grew 10 times over the past year, and is now the biggest cab-booking service provider in the country.
Olacabs provides cab-booking services to customers through multiple channels but it does not own any cabs. “We are a technology company. We are a technology platform for transportation. We help connect customers and drivers better,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO, during an interview to NDTV Profit.
“We operate like a market place similar to the business model of Amazon, Snapdeal and Flipkart. Any existing licenced cab owner can work with us,” the IITian adds.
Customers can book cabs through its apps, website and even call centre. Recently, it launched the facility of cashless payment by offering an in-app pre-paid wallet will allow customers to recharge their account through a credit card. Olacabs earns revenue from the “each booking we send to driver partners,” he said.
Olacabs has lined up aggressive expansion plans after the funding round from SoftBank. It is targeting to have on board a million driver partners in three years. Currently, it has 35,000 cabs on its platform. It also plans to further invest in its technology platform to provide a better experience to customers as well as expand its footprint to smaller cities. Olacabs currently provides cab services in nearly 20 cities.
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“We want to promote driver entrepreneurship and develop skills so that people buy a car and become a small-scale entrepreneur,” says Aggarwal.
Retail investors who want to have a bite from this fast-growing company will have to wait longer. “We don’t have any listing plans for now but could consider in the future.” Â