Retail-tech startup Daalchini has announced its first ESOP (employee stock option program (liquidation) plan worth Rs 1 crore for its current and former employees.
Around 21 current and former employees have benefited from the ESOP initiative across hierarchies including, VPs to hub managers, Daalchini said in a press release. According to the company, team members with vested options are eligible to take part in the repurchase and liquidate almost 100% of their vested shares if their options are vested as of April 2022.
Recently, the startup raised $4 million in its Series A round led by Unicorn India Ventures with participation from existing backers such as Artha Venture Fund and Ajay Kaul.
Daalchini provides instant, affordable, 6-meals-a-day food options through IoT-enabled phygital vending machines. The company claims that it serves over 100 startups, co-working spaces, large MNCs, hospitals, educational institutes, and residential complexes.
Daalchini is present in over 20 cities in India. It claims to have more than 2 lakhs monthly active users, over 200 franchise partners, and 160 brands selling on its platform.
This is the second ESOP buyback in the second half of 2022. In September, healthtech startup Orange Health announced its maiden stock buyback plan worth $1 million in September. As per data compiled by Fintrackr, more than 20 startups have announced ESOP buyback, liquidity or sale worth around $200 million in the first six months of 2022 or H1 2022.
While the frequency of ESOP buyback in the second half of 2022 has been quite low as compared to the first half, a clutch of growth and late-stage startups have either expanded or launched their new ESOP scheme this year. The list includes HomeLane, Ultraviolette, Waycool, Amagi, NoBroker, DealShare, Money View, Purplle, LEAP, Wiz Freight, Ather Energy, Ninjacart, Ecom Express, Pine Labs, and VeGrow among others.
