B2B e-com platform ShopKirana raises $2 Mn from Info Edge and others

B2B e-commerce platform ShopKirana has raised $2 million from Info Edge with the participation of AET Fund, Japan's Akatsuki and Incubate Fund and Better Capital AngelList syndicate.

The fresh capital comes almost after a gap of two years. The Indore-based startup had raised an undisclosed pre-Series A fund from Lead Angels, Incubate Fund and others in December 2016.

ShopKirana will use the latest proceeds to expand the business as it aims to launch its operation in ten cities next year, targeting one lakh retailers and connecting farmers with retailers, reports ET.

The startup floated by Sumit Ghorawat, Deepak Dhanotiya, and Tanutejas Saraswat, connects brands & traditional retailers mom and pop stores with the help of technology & supply chain innovation.

ShopKirana has deployed a training and development team to educate retailers about new age business and bring them online via ShopKirana app. It provides value-added services like logistics, banking, loan, IT and ordering systems to the retailers.

In brief, it targets servicing small retailers and empowering them to compete with organised retail and online players.

While Udaan, ShopX, Jumbotail, StoreKing, and Snapbizz are leading in this segment, industrialist Mukesh Ambani is also planning to bring a hybrid online-offline market with the help of Reliance Retail and Jio.

As the Indian retail sector is likely to grow at a CAGR of 13 per cent to reach a size of $950 billion in 2019, it will be worthwhile to watch who among the aforementioned players end up grabbing the major chunk.

ShopKirana also counts Atul Jain, former senior vice president of Samsung global headquarters and food tech startup Hola Chef’s founder Anil Gelra as its early investors.