Gharbar Raises Pre-Seed Funding to Redefine Basic Student Living

• ByStartupStory     |    October 1, 2026

From Living Away From Ghar to Building Gharbar: How Two Brothers Are Redefining Student Living 

For millions of students, moving to a new city for education is the beginning of an exciting new chapter. But behind the pursuit of degrees and better opportunities lies a less-discussed challenge: building a functional life away from home. 

A bed to sleep on. A mattress. A study table. An almirah. Clean drinking water. Everyday essentials that are often taken for granted can become surprisingly expensive, inconvenient or simply difficult to arrange when students move to a new city. 

For Rahul Chandra and Shashi Chandra, this was not a problem they discovered through market research. It was one they experienced themselves. 

Having grown up in a small town in Bihar and leaving home in 2012, the brothers spent more than a decade experiencing what it meant to live away from their families while building their own lives. Along the way, they saw a recurring gap in student living: there were premium solutions for those willing to spend more, and there were compromises for those looking to save, but very little that focused on making essential living amenities affordable, functional and accessible. 

That experience eventually became the foundation for Gharbar. 

Founded in 2023, Gharbar was built around a simple idea: Basic Amenities on Rent (B.A.R.). Instead of asking students to invest heavily in furniture and appliances they may only need for a few years, Gharbar aims to give them access to the essentials they need, when they need them. 

The company started with just four products – Bed, Mattress, Almirah and Water Purifier. It has since expanded its portfolio to 15 essential SKUs spanning furniture and everyday household appliances. Through its rental model, students can access these necessities along with services such as delivery, setup and maintenance, reducing the hassle and upfront cost associated with setting up a new home. 

The model also reflects Gharbar’s larger ambition: to build an ecosystem around the practical needs of students living away from home. 

The company is developing its own manufacturing capabilities for furniture, with an emphasis on standardized, durable and modular designs that can withstand repeated rental use. This approach allows Gharbar to look beyond simply renting products and focus on creating purpose-built solutions for a segment with distinct and recurring needs. 

The business has already served more than 1,500 students across North Delhi and is now preparing to expand its presence across Delhi-NCR. Its journey has also received support

from the startup ecosystem, including incubation at DTU-IIF and Udhmodya Foundation. Gharbar has received pre-seed support through the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), along with backing from AlloyX Ventures and other early-stage angel investors, as well as SBI as a debt partner. 

A Principal at AlloyX Ventures, said: “Gharbar is addressing a very tangible but underserved problem in student living. We were particularly drawn to the founders’ first-hand understanding of the problem and their focus on building an asset-backed model around affordability, convenience and repeat usage. We believe the company has an interesting opportunity to build a differentiated platform in the student living ecosystem.” 

The company’s public profile also positions Gharbar within the broader bachelor-centric housing and student-living space, with a focus on balancing living standards with affordability and reducing the friction associated with furnishing a residence. 

For Rahul and Shashi, however, Gharbar is not simply about renting furniture. It is about addressing the often-overlooked infrastructure of student life. 

When students leave their hometowns for education, they are expected to adapt quickly to a new city, institution and way of life. Gharbar’s proposition is built around making one part of that transition simpler: ensuring that students can access the basic amenities required to create a functional living space without committing to the cost of owning everything themselves. 

This is where the brothers’ personal journey continues to shape the company’s larger vision. 

The same experience of being away from their own Ghar that helped Rahul and Shashi identify the problem is now informing the company they are building for others. 

As Gharbar expands beyond North Delhi and moves towards a wider Delhi-NCR presence, its ambition is to create a more accessible middle ground in student living – one where students do not have to choose between expensive premium solutions and compromising on basic necessities. 

Gharbar’s mission is simple: to make basic living accessible, affordable, and dignified for every student living away from home. 

From leaving a small town in Bihar to navigating life away from home, Rahul and Shashi’s journey has come full circle. What began as a personal experience has evolved into a business built around a simple proposition: Gharbar – Basic Amenities on Rent (B.A.R.), redefining the basics of living away from home.

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