Russia-based online travel agency startup Travelmenu has raised $1.6 million in funding from Almaz Capital Partners and Runa Capital, it's first injection of external funds.
Until now the company [TLabs Showcase - Travelmenu] has been funded solely by its founders Nina Pogossova, Katrin Buckenmaier, Mikhail Pogossov and Oleg Kopachevts, but its progress has now attracted the attention of the two venture capital firms.
The company says the investment will be used to ramp up its consumer marketing efforts and expand its sales infrastructure.
Travelmenu is hoping its growth and model will challenge the traditional marketplace in Russia, dominated by tours operators and offline agencies.
It has secured deals from around 70 tour operators (including giants TezTour and Coraltour) and has direct booking to 277,000 hotels and 500 airlines.
Buckenmaier says:
"With their help we will now be able to accelerate Travelmenu's growth and invest in the necessary infrastructure to provide the Russian and Ukrainian traveler with the best customer value proposition available in the online market today."