Yoho, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) footwear startup, raised Rs 27 crore in a funding round led by Gulf Islamic Investments (GII), which manages over $4.5 billion in assets.
Rukam Capital and angel investors, including Rajeev Misra (CEO of SoftBank Investment Advisers), Vijay Shekhar Sharma (CEO of Paytm), and Pankaj Chaddah (founder of Shyft), also participated.
The funds will fuel growth, research and development, marketing, hiring, and offline expansion. Yoho previously secured Rs 20 crore in October 2022.
“Our core target audience is 28 to 40 years old, who like colour and style, value comfort, and don’t just go for fashion,” cofounder Prateek Singhal said.
Founded in 2021 by Ahmad Hushsam and Singhal, Yoho offers a variety of footwear, including casual and formal options for men and women.
Yoho competes with startups like Solethreads and Neeman’s, aiming to increase its offline footprint in India. The company targets 2,000 partnerships with multi-brand outlets (MBOs) in tier I and II cities. It also plans to expand its product range to 300 styles by 2025.
“Year-on-year, we are growing at almost 300%, and this year, we are aiming to close at an overall revenue of around 90 crores,” Singhal said. “The shoe segment has grown by almost 400%, and the slipper segment has grown by around 180%, which is driving most of the growth.”
Yoho generates around 80% of its revenue through online channels, with 26-27% coming from its website and the rest from various marketplaces. The remaining 20% comes from offline sales, reflecting its balanced approach.
As the company eyes growth, it plans to expand into international markets, targeting regions such as the Middle East, Africa, and the US by early next year.
Commenting on the investment, Mohammed Al-Hassan, cofounder and co-CEO of GII, said, “GII provides innovative growth funding solutions that address evolving consumer preferences. Yoho’s approach of combining biomechanical expertise with affordability targets a critical gap in the market that GII’s investment can address.”
“We see a significant void in the consumer market for scientifically designed, affordable footwear that caters to the discerning Indian consumer. Yoho’s innovative approach, which combines biomechanical expertise with accessibility, is precisely positioned to fill this gap,” said Misra at SoftBank.
