Wow Venue is India’s most comprehensive online platform offering hassle free venue booking solution for 2000+ venues across 12+ countries, for weddings, corporate, social and MICE events, supported by a professionally trained team to manage these events. In line with its ambitious growth plans, the company recently raised funding of US$ 1.5 million that will be strategically used for growth and expansion of the brand.
Founded by Ganesh Rai in 2016, Wow Venue has been growing steadily to become a sought-after brand for booking of premium Indian and International venues, under the table leadership of Ankit Agarwal, co-founder, and director. By simplifying the process of searching, choosing, and booking the perfect venue for memorable events, Wow Venue also offers a ‘dedicated venue expert’ to further support their clients to have an efficient, hassle free, cost effective and swift venue booking experience. Wow productions is another successful business arm of the company that offers end to end event management services – from conceptualising, planning, artist management, production, and execution for destination weddings, corporate and social events.
The funding of US$ 1.5 million from a strategic investor, Pranav Pathak, offers the company a much-needed boost to focus on long-term growth plans, including MICE portfolios. Further, guided by Sangram Baviskar, chief business officer, Reliance Capital and Advisor-Finance for Wow Venue, the funds will be instrumental in brand building, marketing, hiring skilled resources. It will also be used to further strengthen the technological framework to offer comprehensive MICE solutions to corporates, including hotel and venue bookings, complete land services, logistics, sightseeing options, event planning and production, execution and manpower sourcing. Wow Venue will also be investing in exclusive tie-ups with premium hotels and cruises globally, in order to offer their clientele the ‘Wow’ experience.
Speaking about their long term growth plans, Agarwal said, “The events and activations industry in India is currently growing at a CAGR of 16 per cent and is expected to cross the INR 10,000 crore mark by 2020-21. The global MICE industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5 per cent to reach US$ 1,245 billion by 2023. However, India has a miniscule market share of the global pie, leaving behind a highly unexplored industry with enormous potential. Leveraging our existing position as a premium venue booking and event management company, we look forward to creating a strong brand presence for Wow Venue, both in Indian and International markets.”
Speaking about his decision to invest in the 2-year-old start-up, Pathak said, “Despite the huge market size of the events and activation industry, the segment remains largely unorganised. Wow Venue, through its digital platform, has taken a small but significant step in organising the Indian event industry with a hardworking and passionate team that boasts of a keen insight into global trends and a restlessness to excel – ingredients that have been instrumental in their accelerated growth rate since the inception. I am simply “Wowed” to be a part of this journey and believe it to be a great one!”
In addition to the above, in 2019, Wow Venue also plans to venture into the tourism sector with the launch of a unique digital platform for air ticketing, hotel booking, and customised holiday packages worldwide.