Bharti Softbank (BSB), a 50:50 JV between Bharti Enterprises and Softbank Corp. focused on mobile Internet, announced that it has partnered with Gurgaon (India) based mobile start-up firm Y2CF Digital Media Pvt Ltd (Y2CF) to launch a mobile device-agnostic, location-based service.
Y2CF and BSB have developed the location-based check-in service that works across all mobile devices, with the aim to build the hyper local commerce ecosystem in India, wherein consumers get to explore rewards and offers available with brands and merchants in their vicinity. The BSB-Y2CF partnership plans to launch this service under the hoppr brand name. Under the partnership, BSB has taken an equity stake in Y2CF with the option of acquiring majority stake in the company.
Commenting on the partnership, Kavin Bharti Mittal, BSB’s Head of Strategy & New Product Development, said,“When we look at the e-commerce space in India, we see enough companies doing a good job of solving the problem of online retail. India has over 900 million subscribers that are always connected to a network but there still doesn’t exist a quick and simple way to find what they are looking for offline in the world around them. This is the unique opportunity we see, in creating a bridge between the Online and Offline worlds. We believe such a platform could also help organize the vastly unorganized merchant base by connecting them with consumers who have such devices near them. We are delighted to see the passion and commitment of the Y2CF team and look forward to working with them to build out this vision and take hoppr to the next level.”
Y2CF has already tied up with leading mobile service providers including Airtel, Aircel, Idea, Reliance, Tata Docomo and Vodafone for hoppr, which will initially cover 3,000 retail outlets/locations focused in top 4 cities namely Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru, and offer customers great rewards and special services on the go.
Md. Imthiaz, Founder & CEO, Y2CF, said, “We have seen the mobile growing from predominantly voice usage to being used for accessing information on a real-time basis. hoppr’s location specific communication of rewards and coupons will offer a hyper local commerce platform, which will benefit both consumers and merchants alike.”
BSB, which began operations in October 2011, aims to actively participate in the growth of mobile Internet in India with focus on Social Media, Gaming and Commerce verticals.