Omidyar Network upbeat on local language platforms

Philanthropic investment firm Omidyar Network is betting big on local language platforms, as the country is expected to add the next 500 million internet users mostly from rural areas.

Of the $250 million it has invested in India, the firm has funded multilingual portals such as Healofy, DailyHunt, Doubtnut, Pratilipi and Indus Os. "The kind of mental models you had when you built businesses like Flipkart or Swiggy needs to be changed for the next half a billion people who will be coming online as their social and cultural context is very different from the first generation of internet users. You have to re-imagine the customer experience for this next half billion," Roopa Kudva, partner and managing director of Omidyar Network, told Business Standard.

The firm is looking to invest $50-60 million annually in India in next few years. "However, we do not have a target for investment amount," Kudva added.

Omidyar Network, which had made 90 investments in India, including a few nonprofit organisations, is scouting for more start-ups and entrepreneurs who are trying to solve problems of underserved populations in the fields of financial services, education, property rights, digital health, and transportation. Of the $250 million investment, about 70 per cent is equity and 30 per cent is through grants.

In March, the fund had invested $1 million in Healofy, a multilingual parenting startup. Apart from investing in local language app DailyHunt, Omidyar Network also led a funding round of $4.3 million in Bengaluru-based self-publishing e-platform Pratilipi earlier this year.

It has also tied up with venture development fund Village Capital to come up with India's first civic tech accelerator programme, in which around 12 civic engagement start-ups will be mentored.