Sporty start-up bags Rs 2 crore in PE fund

TIW will be given 10% stake in the company and it will initially invest Rs 1 crore in Howdy Ventures (P) Ltd with an additional option to invest Rs 1 crore in the future. Howdydo was launched in 2017 with a vision of changing the sports land scape in India.  SK Choudhury, Director, Howdy Ventures says, “The global sports market is worth $800 bn. 

India’s sports market is currently worth $3-5 bn and is expected to grow in leaps and bounds. India has won 24 Olympic Medals in 28 Olympic Games held since 1900. We want to change this by focusing on neighbourhood sports.” He adds, “Our aim is to promote sports at the grassroots level. 

In Howdydo, we have brought every aspect of sport and localised it on a neighbourhood level. One can locate a local class or a coach, form a team, find sporting events in your own colony, find partners for your gym, running or tennis partners in your neighbourhood or have that event played out in your locality. We have integrated social networking and messenger to the app too. 

The messenger can accommodate as many as 1 lakh users in a group with conference calling and video calling” said Sudhakar Raja, CEO of Howdy Ventures. Britto, Chairman of Kerry Indev Logistics with interests in Hospitality, Education and Sports and also Chairman of Howdy Ventures has also agreed to infuse more capital as needed. 

He said, “India is gearing up for many multi-sports events like the Indian Premier League (Cricket), Hockey Indian League, Indian Super League (Soccer), Indian Badminton League, Pro Kabaddi League and Premier Futsal. 

There has been a shift of interest in Indian sports attracting mass fan following. It has brought tremendous potential to invest in sports and garner huge returns in this segment. We see a great potential in Howdydo and we are going to continue our support with additional funding as and when required.”