A fire broke out at the warehouse of fintech unicorn BharatPe in Delhi during the early hours of June 29, resulting in a loss of approximately INR 50 lakh. The fire engulfed BharatPe’s PoS devices, furniture, documents, and other items stored in the warehouse. The building, located in South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar, housed the BharatPe warehouse on the ground floor and a cloud kitchen on the first floor.
According to a BharatPe official present at the site, the staff from the cloud kitchen first noticed the smoke around 2-2:30 am and immediately alerted the fire department. BharatPe’s team was also informed about the incident. It took two fire engines over an hour to bring the fire under control. Fortunately, no guards or employees were present in the warehouse when the fire broke out.
Preliminary investigations suggest that a short-circuit may have been the primary cause of the fire, although further investigations are underway to determine the exact cause.
In a statement, BharatPe acknowledged the unfortunate incident and stated that the affected warehouse primarily stored faulty or discarded devices. The company estimates the loss to be under INR 50 lakh. However, another source within the company pegged the loss at around INR 1 crore, emphasizing the presence of faulty equipment in the warehouse.
BharatPe, founded in 2018, offers merchants the ability to accept online payments through QR codes and PoS devices. It expanded into the buy now pay later segment with the launch of PostPe last year. The fintech unicorn has raised over $580 million in funding and competes with prominent players like Paytm and PhonePe.
It’s worth noting that BharatPe reported a significant loss of INR 5,610.7 crore in FY22, marking a 3.4x increase from the previous year. However, its revenue from operations saw a substantial rise of 283% year-on-year, amounting to INR 456.8 crore.
While dealing with the aftermath of the warehouse fire, BharatPe is also currently involved in a legal battle with its former Managing Director, Ashneer Grover. Earlier this year, CEO Suhail Sameer stepped down from his role at the company. The incident adds to the challenges faced by the fintech unicorn as it navigates through a period of transition and legal disputes.
