Indian B2B eCommerce platform udaan said it raised $280 million in additional funds as of Wednesday (Jan. 6), from both new and existing investors, a report in the Hindu Bisuness Line says.
According to the report, udaan plans to use the funding for reaching out to more small businesses around the country, expand its selection of products and improve the user experience, along with bolstering its technology program and supply chain finance infrastructure, and expanding SME financing capabilities.
Co-Founder Amod Malviya said the company was “at the forefront of this uniquely Indian e-commerce opportunity” over the past several years and was working on an “India-first mobile-first” approach to eCommerce.
COVID-19 “has accelerated the already fast digital-led evolution of highly fragmented and unorganised Indian trade/retail industry,” he said, according to the report. “At the same time, the pandemic has also highlighted the unique structure of the Indian economy, with millions of kiranas and neighbourhoods stores becoming the lifeline of our country at the time of crisis.”
The current round will be backed by existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, DST Global, GGV Capital, Altimeter Capital and Tencent, along with new investors Octahedron Capital and Moonstone Capital, the report says.
udaan has a wide range of specialties, working in lifestyle, electronics, home and kitchen, staples, fruits and vegetables, FMCG, pharma, toys and general merchandise, the report says, helping small manufacturers, farmers and brands move their products. In doing so, the company also helps shopkeepers, kirana owners, restaurant owners and others with access to a large trove of products and goods.
Boris Lokschin, co-founder and CEO of
Spryker, told
PYMNTS recently that the new B2B commerce sphere was in the process of fully embracing the eCommerce model. One of the big changes, he said, has been how the companies navigate the new model in which transparency of costs for items, letting consumers more readily compare with other markets.
