Facebook co-founder’s fund invests in Mswipe

Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s tech fund B Capital is investing $11 million in Mswipe, a Mumbai-based payments company that specialises in point-of-sale hardware and services that enable merchants to accept all forms of electronic payments. B Capital is betting on an e-payments revolution in India with 1.4 crore small merchants expected to start accepting digital payments. Saverin will join the Mswipe board and work closely with the company.

B Capital’s investment marks the closing of Mswipe’s $41-million series-D round of fund-raising, which had earlier seen investments from UCRNT Fund — a joint venture between Ratan Tata’s RNT Associates and the University of California and existing investors Matrix Partners India, Falcon Edge Capital and DSG Consumer Partners. While the company has not disclosed the valuation, Axis Bank has sold its 8% stake for Rs 80.9 crore, which values the company at Rs 1,011crore.

According to Mswipe founder and CEO Manish Patel, B Capital’s investment is a validation of Mswipe’s business. “B Capital’s expertise in the sector and its exceptional network in Asia will be an important ingredient as we shift orbit and execute our next phase of growth,” he said.

B Capital’s investment is led by B Capital partner Kabir Narang, who leads investments in Asia and global fintech and SaaS. Narang was earlier with Fidelity Growth Partners and Warburg Pincus, where he was involved with big ticket investments in technology and financial services.