Bengaluru-based lifestyle startup, Chumbak Design has received a Rs 85 crores investment
from Gaja Capital in addition to other investments in this round. Managing Partner at Gaja Capital, Gopal Jain, told Economic Times details of the deal were confidential, but assured that the firm had been the lead in the investment round.

Currently running 17 location, the seven-year old company, Chambuk Design was founded by Vivek Prabhakar and Shubhra Chadda, who are husband and wife. The locations of the company stores are in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Kochi, Jaipur, Chandigarh and the Delhi NCR region.
“There are very few design-driven, lifestyle brands in India, and that’s what makes Chumbak a
very unique investment from our perspective,” Jain said.

The lead investment from Gaja Capital will be the Mumbai-based investment company’s sixth
from their $240 million Gaja Capital III Fund. Other investors in the round include Matrix Partners India, Seedfund, and a personal investment from Narayan Ramachandran, an operating partner at Gaja Capital. Gaja, Matrix and Seedfund have previously invested in the company. According to informed sources, Gaja has invested approximately Rs 52 crores, Matrix has put in Rs 22 crores, and Seedfund has put in Rs 6 crores.

In the past, Gaja Capital has invested in two other women-led companies, the first being one of
the largest pre-kindergarten and K-12 chains in the country, Kangaroo Kids Education Ltd.,
founded by Lina Ashar. The second women-led company was Visage Holdings and Finance
with CEO Hardika Shah. “This reflects our belief in meritocracy,” Jain said. “It also reflects, in some way, the changing nature of the consumer, and there are more companies being created by women in India.”
The funds raised by Chumbak Design will go toward expansion of the company in terms of
location as well as product, with focus on metropolitan areas and connections with larger companies.
“We also plan to enter overseas markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia Singapore and HongKong by the second quarter of calendar year 2018,” Prabhakar said. In the 2017 fiscal year, Chumban Design has posted proceeds of Rs 45-50 crores.

(Picture courtesy: Chumbak Design)