<div><strong>By Haider Ali Khan</strong></div><div> </div><div>With an eye on expansion, Australia-based online graphic design platform Canva has formally entered the Indian market. Canva is all set to make graphic design simple for everyone, allowing users to create professional quality designs. </div><div> </div><div>Canva has presence in more than 179 countries, and more than 1 million designs are created on the platform each week.</div><div> </div><div>Canva, which reached 5 million users in the world in just over two years, has 150,000 users already in India. India account for 4th largest market, have already created more than 1 million designs.</div><div><br>"We are excited to be in India. We see great potential for it to become an even bigger market for us. We will be investing in local marketing, business development and brand partnerships in India. We will also be launching our Canva Experts partnerships in India and working with local firms to help Indian users get the most out of the platform. India is a key market for Canva, and we feel it has great potential for growth, especially considering Indians are known to have a strong design aesthetic, and be early adopters of new technology and applications," said Melanie Perkins, CEO and founder, Canva. </div><div> </div><div>The company aims to reach 1 million users in India by the end of 2016. With over 2,000 users signing up in India every day, Canva is seeing exponential growth in the local market, reinforcing its pursuit to become more deeply entrenched in local conversations around design simplicity and the role of the internet in propelling it.</div><div><br>Canva recently completed a US$ 15 million series A funding round to expand its platform and is now valued at US$ 165 million. It will use the funding to grow its team, enhance the product and expand globally. The funding was led by investors Felicis Ventures. They were joined by existing investors Blackbird Ventures, Matrix Partners, and new investors Vayner Capital, the investment arm of Gary Vaynerchuk. Hollywood actors Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson have also become investors in the company.<br> </div><div>Canva now has templates for cards and social media posts to celebrate festivals such as Durga Puja, Dussehra and Diwali.</div>
