GIVA, a prominent silver jewellery brand, has successfully raised INR 270 crore (approximately $32.9 million) in a Series B funding round led by Premji Invest where existing investors, including Aditya Birla Ventures, Alteria Capital, and A91 Partners, also participated.
Out of the total investment, INR 200 crore was infused as primary funding, while INR 70 crore came through a secondary stake sale, allowing some early investors to exit.
With the fresh capital, GIVA aims to drive innovation and expand its product categories and offerings. The funding will also support the expansion of its omnichannel presence, including the establishment of more offline stores, as the brand strives to solidify its position as the go-to platform for minimalistic jewellery and affordable gifting options.
The Indian silver jewellery market represents a $4 billion opportunity, with the organized market share currently standing at less than 7%. GIVA has emerged as a category leader, focusing on fine silver jewellery, design offerings, and customer-centricity, said Varun Khandelwal, Principal Investments at Premji Invest.
Founded in 2019 by Ishendra Agarwal, Nikita Prasad, and Sachin Shett, GIVA initially specialized in authentic 925 fine silver jewellery and has recently expanded into 14K and 18K gold and lab-grown diamond jewellery. The brand operates its own stores across the country and has various SIS (Shop-in-Shop) formats with retailers like Shoppers Stop.
GIVA introduces over 250 new designs every month and currently has over 50 stores in top Indian cities. The company plans to expand its presence nationwide over the next five years. Recently, GIVA appointed Anushka Sharma as its brand ambassador.
Ishendra Agarwal, Founder and CEO of GIVA, expressed excitement about leveraging Premji Invest’s omnichannel playbook to strengthen the brand’s leadership position and establish a pan-India presence.
In March, GIVA secured INR 40 crore ($4.8 million) in debt funding from venture debt firm Alteria Capital.
The startup faces competition from other notable D2C brands in the jewellery sector, such as BlueStone, Melorra, and CaratLane.
The Indian D2C space is witnessing significant growth, with over 50,000 digital-first startups operating in the country. According to an Inc42 report, the Indian D2C segment is projected to become a $300 billion market by 2030.
The D2C jewellery market was estimated to be around $198 billion in FY22, with a compound annual growth rate of 28% expected between FY22 and FY27, reaching a size of $692 billion by FY27, according to Statista.
Despite the ongoing funding winter in the Indian startup ecosystem, GIVA’s successful funding round comes as a positive development. In the first half of 2023 (H1 2023), funding for Indian startups declined 10% to $5.4 billion compared to the second half of 2022, with funding deals also decreasing by 25% to 462 transactions.
