ShopKirana raises $2M funding from Info Edge, Japan's Incubate Fund & others

ShopKirana said the funds would be used to expand the business, with the aim of launching in ten cities next year, targeting one lakh retailers and connecting farmers with retailers.

Business to business e-commerce startup ShopKirana said that it had raised $2 million in funding from Info Edge, along with AET Fund, Akatsuki and Incubate Fund from Japan and Better Capital AngelList syndicate.

The funds would be used to expand the business, with the aim of launching in ten cities next year, targeting one lakh retailers and connecting farmers with retailers, said co-founder Sumit Ghorawat.

Set up by Ghorawat, Deepak Dhanotiya, and Tanutejas Saraswat, ShopKirana partners with retailers by becoming part of their supply chain and acts as a go-to-market channel for products and services.

"We have entered the growth phase now and plan to aggressively expand pan India. Unlike a lot of startups, we took inspiration from the McDonalds and the 7-Elevens of the world, where they did not open 100 stores on day 1. They operated one store initially, made the order taking streamlined, recipe standardized and then scaling became easy. Now, not just the leadership but my entire team is confident in scaling the business." said Sumit Ghorawat, co-founder, ShopKirana.

“We believe that the next frontier for internet businesses will be Bharat and not India. Shopkirana is servicing small retailers and empowering them to compete with organized retail and online players. The team is outstanding and has focused well on delivering the proof of concept with promising economics. They are addressing a large problem and we look forward to working with them closely,” said Kitty Agarwal, Head-Corporate Development, Info Edge.

ShopKirana is focused on changing the traditional distribution channels and converting these to an online wholesale model.

Tomoya Ogawa, Managing Director of AET Fund and CFO of Akatsuki, is saying "We're thrilled to partner up with ShopKirana. We aim to realize the delightful lifestyle change of retailers by transferring our global expertise on entertainment including gamification."

Traditional retail is still the bigger part of the market in India, and Ghorawat said that the company was targeting a 5% market share over the next five years, which would translate into sales of $3-5 billion.

In 2013, the Indian retail sector was estimated at US$520 billion and was among the largest employers in the country. By 2019, the Indian retail sector is likely to grow at a CAGR of 13% to reach a size of US$950 billion.

"Kirana stores are an irreplaceable last mile connection in India & ShopKirana has built the most intelligent, asset-light and scalable platform to re-imagine neighbourhood grocery retail in a way that no one else has," said Vaibhav Domkundwar of Better Capital AngelList syndicate.

SOURCE: MEDIA ECONOMIC TIMES