[Funding alert] Why IndiaMART invested Rs 36Cr in B2B startup Vyapar

B2B ecommerce firm IndiaMART has announced an investment of Rs 36 crore (approx $5.4 million) in Vyapar, a mobile-based business accounting software for small businesses.

In a statement, the company said that the Series A investment round in Bengaluru-based Simply Vyapar Apps Pvt Ltd, owner of Vyapar, also included existing investors India Quotient and Axilor.

‘Vyapar’ is an invoice accounting and stock inventory app, which can be used by small and medium businesses for billing Goods and Services Tax (GST) invoices, managing stock inventory, and accounting solutions.

Speaking about the investment with YourStory, Dinesh Agarwal, Managing Director, IndiaMART said that the company found about Vyapar when it was looking for something on the mobile. The team found it to be a very suitable product for small businesses in India. 

He said that accounting software is mostly desktop-driven and operated by accountants because of several reasons, including heavy accountancy terms. So small and medium businesses in India needed a desktop, software, and a muneemji or an accountant to handle accounts. 

Dinesh added, "With the advent of mobile internet, a handheld very smart computer has been put in the palms of half a billion people, which is connected to the internet all the time, and many small businesses wanted to use these mini handheld computers to do their own 'hisaab kitaab' (accounting) even if they don't understand terms like debit, credit, creditor, etc. So, Vyapar fits perfectly-well here as it is solving the complex billing and accounting needs of MSMEs in a simplified manner, is aligned with our long-term vision to make business easy for millions by providing them tech-enabled, easy and cost-effective solutions.”

He also highlighted that Vyapar recorded more than one million app downloads and has a rating of 4.6 on the Google Play Store. In fact, the startup claims to have recorded revenue of Rs 1.4 crore in the last financial year.

"We feel that going forward, the startup should be able to add a lot of value in areas of invoicing, accounting, inventory management, and GST. We are moving in the right direction as we have been working with small businesses and our vision to make India an easy place to do business by adopting technology, along with internet and mobile," Dinesh added.

Founded by cousins Dinesh Agarwal and Brijesh Agrawal in 1996 with seed money of Rs 40,000, IndiaMART InterMesh is an online B2B marketplace for business products and services, connecting buyers with suppliers. The company focusses on providing a platform to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), large enterprises, as well as individuals.

On June 24, the online marketplace IndiaMART InterMESH launched its Initial Public Offering (IPO). The IPO was subscribed 36.16 times on the final day of bidding.

The B2B ecommerce firm recently posted a consolidated profit of Rs 31.4 crore for the quarter ended on June 30, 2019. It recorded a loss of Rs 56.7 crore in the same period a year ago. The total consolidated income of IndiaMart increased by 37.5 percent to Rs 161.6 crore during the reported quarter from Rs 117.5 crore in the corresponding period of 2018-19. 

(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)

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