Matrubharti
{{short description|Online community themed around reading and writing}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Matrubharti
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| founded = {{start date and age|2015|2}}
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- Mahendra Sharma
- Nilesh Shah
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- }}
| url = {{URL|https://www.matrubharti.com|matrubharti.com}}
| commercial = Yes
| registration = Optional
| num_users = 25Lakh (2.5 Million)
| current_status = Active
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| headquarters = Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
}}Matrubharti is an Ahmedabad-based free self publishing online portal that allows users to read and publish original stories, biographies, articles, novels, poetry in Indian regional languages by directly obtaining content from authors and publishing it as eBooks{{Cite web |date=2016-06-13 |title=eBook publisher Matrubharti raises Rs 20 lakh from Viridian Capital |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/ebook-publisher-matrubharti-raises-rs-20-lakh-from-viridian-capital/article8724037.ece |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=BusinessLine |language=en}} in six languages of India including Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada and Telugu.{{Cite web |title=Online Self-publishing Goes Desi |url=https://www.forbesindia.com/article/startups/online-selfpublishing-goes-desi/45099/1 |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=Forbes India |language=en}}
History
It is founded in February 2015,{{Cite web |last=Ghadyalpatil |first=Abhiram |date=2016-11-18 |title=A one-stop e-bookshop for writers and readers |url=https://www.livemint.com/Companies/lrtMckWjcU7H8PJmh10WDI/A-onestop-ebookshop-for-writers-and-readers.html |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=mint |language=en}} to introduce new writers to readers in the regional space, Mahendra Sharma, who launched Matrubharti at the New Delhi World Book Fair.{{Cite web |date=2018-09-16 |title=Spotlight: India has more regional language users than English; Startups try to bridge gap |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/life/lifestyle/spotlight-india-has-more-regional-language-users-than-english-startups-try-to-bridge-gap/1314777/ |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=Financialexpress |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Shaikh |first=Shadma |date=2016-07-18 |title=Who said Indians won’t pay for E-books |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/who-said-indians-wont-pay-for-e-books/articleshow/53257574.cms |access-date=2023-09-25 |issn=0013-0389}}
In the initial stage, it was a self-funded platform but thereafter the creators raised funding Rs 20 lakh from Viridian Capital, in March 2015.{{Cite news |date=2016-06-14 |title=Ahmedabad-based eBook publisher Matrubharti raises Rs 20 lakh from Viridian Capital |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/ahmedabad-based-ebook-publisher-matrubharti-raises-rs-20-lakh-from-viridian-capital/articleshow/52748713.cms |access-date=2023-09-23 |issn=0971-8257}} and raised another 3.24 crores $32 million from US-based Gujarati angel investors Surya Holdings and Ferrana LLC in 2019.{{Cite news |last=Dutta |first=Vishal |date=2019-10-03 |title=Matrubharti raised Rs 3.24 crore in Angel fund round |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/matrubharti-raised-rs-3-24-crore-in-angel-fund-round/articleshow/71410913.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2023-09-23 |issn=0013-0389}}
Since 2015, the Ahmedabad-based company The Times of India, Mint mentioned that, "Matrubharti has helped more than 20000 authors registered and have published 4,350 eBooks and 8..5 lakhs of eBooks downloaded.
The platform claims that it has over 2.5 Million registered and 250,000 users.