Mahendra Singh Dhoni has invested an undisclosed sum in fintech starup, KhataBook. KhataBook is a mobile app that helps small shopkeepers and Kirana store owners in India manage their books by helping them track the money owed to them through a digital ledger. The service sends reminders on WhatsApp and through SMS when it’s time for the merchant to collect and helps keeps track of due payments which traditionally have been done through writing in notebooks.
This investment comes after the start-up raised $25 million (around Rs 176.94 crore) in its Series A funding round in October last year. The Bengaluru-based start-up said it will use the proceeds to expand and onboard two crore more merchants in the next 12 months.
In a statement, Ravish Naresh, co-founder and CEO KhataBook said, “We are thrilled to welcome Mahi to the Khatabook family. This partnership seemed like the most natural fit, and we look forward to setting new milestones together as we build financial solutions for a billion Indians.”
Commenting on this, MS Dhoni said, “There are many new-age companies in the country, only a few like KhataBook, are making a difference at the grassroots level. Having grown up in small-town India, I saw friends and family struggle with outdated modes of doing business and tracking finances. KhataBook has had an outsized impact on the lives of India’s small merchants and retailers.”
In August 2019, Dhoni also backed Gurugram-based CARS24, an online marketplace for buying and selling used cars.
