E-commerce fund-raise may take a break now as firms prepare for payback

The next mega round of fund-raising in the Indian e-commerce sector is unlikely anytime before the second half of 2019, industry watchers are suggesting. Of course, cab aggregator Ola, which announced a $1.1-billion fund raise on Wednesday, could get another $900-million investment soon as part of the same round.

The possible pause in fund-raising over the coming months may not have anything to do with the economic slowdown. But major e-commerce companies will have a run time of almost 24 months with their current funds, according to analysts. The big three in the country’s internet space-- Flipkart, Ola and Paytm--