India’s fast-growing sneaker and footwear market is creating space for new-age homegrown brands, and Yoho is looking to strengthen its position in the segment with fresh capital and a sharper offline expansion strategy.
The Delhi-based direct-to-consumer footwear brand has raised a new funding round comprising Rs 15 crore in equity and Rs 8 crore in debt. The round was led by Gulf Islamic Investments and Rajeev Misra, with participation from Vijay Shekhar Sharma and other existing investors.
The latest investment comes as Yoho continues to scale aggressively across both digital and physical retail channels. The company said the fresh funds will be used to expand its offline retail footprint and strengthen its performance running footwear range — a category witnessing increasing demand among Indian consumers.
Co-founded in 2021 by Ahmad Hushsham and Prateek Singhal, the brand says it has already sold more than three million pairs of footwear through its website and leading e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Myntra, Flipkart, Ajio, and Nykaa.
Yoho has also built visibility across India’s growing quick-commerce ecosystem through platforms including Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart.
The company’s expansion plans now extend deeper into offline retail. Yoho aims to partner with 2,500 multi-brand outlets across tier I and tier II cities while also scaling Exclusive Brand Outlets designed with AI-driven solutions to improve fitting accuracy, reduce returns, and optimize inventory management.
The growth story also reflects the broader momentum in India’s sneaker industry. According to market estimates, the Indian sneaker market is projected to touch $6 billion by FY32, creating significant opportunities for digitally native footwear brands.
Yoho had earlier raised Rs 20 crore in its Series A round in 2022 and later secured Rs 27 crore in a pre-Series B funding round led by Gulf Islamic Investments in 2024, highlighting continued investor confidence in the brand’s growth journey.
– By Muskan Dengra