Qlan, a social networking app designed for gamers and esports enthusiasts, has bagged pre-seed funding of $200,000. The investors included Marwah Sports, CIIE.CO and Faad Network.
Qlan plans to utilise the funds raised to expand its platform to a wider community and bolster its team.
Sagar Nair, Co-founder, and CEO of Qlan said, “The pre-seed funding round demonstrates the potential of Qlan and the burgeoning global gaming and esports industry. Our primary objective now is to scale our platform, optimise user experience, and gain deeper insights into our community’s needs. With the invaluable support of our investors, we are poised to elevate Qlan to new horizons and empower the global community of gamers.”
Qlan has over 100,000 combined downloads. The platform was launched in January. It claims to have a user base of over 50,000 gamers across the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, South-East Asia, Europe, North & South America, South Africa, and the MENA regions.
“Meaningful and engaged communities will form the bedrock of the fledgling Indian and global gaming ecosystem. With Qlan, individuals and organisations can focus on what is most important – retention and engagement,” said Pranav Marwah, CEO, Marwah Sports & Director of Marwah Group.
According to the latest research by SkyQuest Technology, the Global Esports Market, valued at $1.08 billion in 2021, is expected to touch $2.8 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 14.50 per cent over the forecast period (2022-2028). Esports is becoming increasingly popular as a result of global digitisation and the low cost of advanced gaming technologies.
“India has over 400 million online gamers with a total market size of over $4 billion. Not only do 90 per cent of these gamers transact, but they also maintain an active social profile to connect with other gamers. This is where we found a fit in Qlan, which is building a comprehensive solution to join gamers and esports enthusiasts,” said Aditya Arora, CEP, Faad Network.
”Esports in India is witnessing “green shoots” of tailwinds. With the government priming up with recognition, regulatory frameworks should follow suit. In parallel, there is a sharp rise in esports athletes, teams, events, sponsors turning to franchises. There will be a need to bridge these facets with a community-driven solution and enable growth. This is where Qlan fits in and would be ripe to tap into what we feel is a sunrise sector in India today,” added Chintan Antano, VP-Seed Investing, CIIE.CO.