[Funding alert] Rural ecommerce startup VilCart raises bridge round from current, new investors

VilCart, a tech startup that enables retailers in villages and small towns to order consumer goods digitally, has raised a bridge funding round. 

It was led by N S Parthasarathy, ex-COO and Co-founder of Mindtree; Dilipkumar Khandelwal, Managing Director and Global Head of Technology Centre, Deutsche Bank and ex-MD, SAP Labs India; Anand Nichani, Board Member, Garuda Polyflex; and Anath Ravi, ex-Sr VP, Reliance Industries Ltd. Current investors Prashanth Prakash, Accel Partners, Anand Banka, ex-Director of EY and Vedanta, and Kalit Kapoor reinvested in this round.

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VilCart operates primarily in Karnataka and is currently operating in 10 districts. It is in the process of setting up operations in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, which will commence on August 1.

"We are helping small brands get a wider greater reach with tech. Some of them are rural brands, which can now reach many cities across three states. During the COVID-19 crisis, we helped villages in essentials supplies," said Prasanna Kumar, Founder of VilCart. 

The funds raised will be utilised to upgrade technology, hire new talent, and for expansion. 

The company also wants to start a ‘Farmer to Farmer’ business, and wants to buy from farmers in one geography and sell it to those in another geography.

Prasanna Kumar, Mahesh Bhat, Rajasekhar, and Amith S Mali started VilCart in 2018. It is a B2B ecommerce company which aims to revolutionise the retail industry in rural India through technology, supply chain, and logistics facilities.

The startup started the business from one district, and has now rapidly expanded to 10 districts in Karnataka, including Mandya, Kolar, and Bengaluru Rural. Currently, the startup is catering to the needs of over 5,000 kirana stores across 1,000+ villages. Earlier, it had raised Rs 2 crore as seed capital. 

“Even a small change in the way we work can create a big impact on how we do business with them. This is where the people we employ makes a difference. They understand the mindset of the business owners and help us grow our business," Prasanna added.