Village commerce startup 1Bridge raises $2.5 Mn led by C4D Partners

1Bridge, a supply chain and distribution network focused on the village in rural India has raised $2.5 million in fresh funding led by The Netherlands-based impact investor C4D Partners. New investors including KAAJ Ventures and angels such as Prashanth Prakash, Puneet Jetli and Aradhana D Chatterjee have also participated. 

According to the Bengaluru-based startup, the funds will be used to expand its product and service offerings, strengthen its technology and data platform. 

Floated by Madan Padaki, Anil Kumar and M Chakrawarty, 1Bridge provides a wide range of aspirational products and digital services to village consumers at doorsteps. It works with local rural entrepreneurs (1Bridge Advisors) to help deliver these products and fulfil services through an intuitive mobile-based tech platform. 

The company claims to have onboarded over 10,000 networks of entrepreneurs, fulfilled 35 million transactions for rural consumers and have served 1.5 million village consumers directly. 

With this round, 1Bridge plans to deepen its reach as a supply chain and distribution network across another 10,000 villages and over 500 1Bridge Experience Centres at various towns over the next 18 months.