India’s Village Laundry Service Raises Equity Capital and Hires CEO

MUMBAI, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Village Laundry Service (VLS), an Innosight Ventures portfolio company, announced today that it has raised Series A financing from Kensington Capital, Index Advisory, and a private India-based investor. The investments will allow VLS to continue the rapid expansion of its chain of laundry kiosks, operated under the brand name Chamak.

“I’m excited to join VLS, whose Chamak laundry booths offer much-needed affordable laundry services to consumers and whose franchise model gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to build a business with minimal startup costs and to share in VLS’s long-term growth.”

Village Laundry Service was founded in 2008 to bring fast and affordable laundry services to consumers, including students and young adults, who desire high-quality cleaning but don’t have access to their own laundry facilities. The company’s unique one-machine laundry kiosks are located in convenient locations, where customers can drop off clothes, have them washed, dried, ironed and ready for pickup in 24 hours.

Village Laundry Service also announced that Mr. Sushil Mungekar has been named its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Mungekar is a cofounder and director at Index Advisory, a financial services advisory firm. Formerly, he served for five years as the chief of passenger car finance at Tata Motors. He will remain on the board at Index Advisory.

Mr. Hari Nair, co-founder of VLS and Venture Partner at Innosight said: “We are thrilled to partner with Kensington Capital and the other investors in this round whose investments will further enable VLS to accelerate expansion and be a leader in the fast-emerging organized retail laundry market in India. We are also excited to have Sushil on board to lead and grow VLS and its Chamak brand. Sushil Mungekar’s finance and franchising expertise and understanding of retail space will be a tremendous asset as VLS seeks to bring its laundry services to more regions throughout India.”

Village Laundry Service was launched in 2008 with seed capital from Innosight Ventures. VLS provides affordable and speedy laundry services via self-contained booths in metropolitan areas. The service operates booths in 3 cities, including Bangalore and Mumbai, and has grown from 3 to 20 stores in less than a year. A spokesperson for Kensington Capital stated, “We are excited about the growth opportunities that lie ahead for Village Laundry Service and the impact it will have on the lives of its employees and customers.”

Sushil Mungekar co-founded Index Advisory Pvt Limited after working 10 years with Tata Group, most recently heading car financing at Tata Motor Finances, where he worked on consolidation of vehicle financing companies and grew the car loan business to be the largest financier of Tata Cars.

Sushil Mungekar said: “I’m excited to join VLS, whose Chamak laundry booths offer much-needed affordable laundry services to consumers and whose franchise model gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to build a business with minimal startup costs and to share in VLS’s long-term growth.”

About Innosight Ventures

Innosight Ventures, the investment arm of innovation and growth consulting firm Innosight (www.innosight.com), provides seed-stage funding and incubation for disruptive startups that have significant potential to provide affordable, convenient solutions and services to consumers.

About Village Laundry Service

VLS and the Chamak Brand were founded in 2008 by Innosight Ventures. VLS offers a range of laundry services ranging from one-machine laundry kiosk franchises to fully integrated commercial washing for bulk laundry in a central processing facility. VLS’s carefully selected and trained entrepreneurs bring affordable and high-quality washing, drying, and ironing services to consumers. VLS is committed to providing meaningful value to customers and creating rewarding employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.

About Kensington Capital

Kensington Capital Holdings, LLC (“Kensington”) is a Boston, MA based private investment office that makes investments across a wide range of asset classes, with a focus on emerging economies around the globe, including Africa, China, Indonesia, India & Latin America.

About Index Advisory

Founded in 2006, Index Advisory (www.indexadvisory.com) is a Mumbai-based advisory firm specializing in the domain of financial services, healthcare, and automotive sectors. The company has a combined 80 years of operating experience in India and has incubated multiple startup businesses.