[Funding alert] B2B ecommerce startup ShipsKart raises Pre-Series A round from Betatron

ShipsKart, Delhi-based B2B ecommerce startup, recently announced that it has raised $2,25,000 in its Pre-Series A funding round led by VC firm and startup accelerator Betatron.

With this fresh round of funding, ShipsKart will continue to expand its global footprint and establish aggregator centres in India and abroad. The ecommerce startup also plans to improve its supply chain and procurement process.

In a statement issued by ShipsKart, Matthias Knobloch, Managing Partner of Betatron said, "ShipsKart's offering to ship owners and operators comes at an opportune time as the industry is embracing digital transformation. With Betatron's investment and network, we’re excited to help scale its eprocurement solution to key ports across Asia and beyond."

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B2B ecommerce startup ShipsKart is aiming for an Amazon-like disruption in the maritime industry

ShipsKart was founded in 2018 by Dhruv Sawhney, Vivek Sahi, and Sunny Bagla, which aims to bring together the fragmented procurement and supply chain in the maritime and offshore domain. ShipsKart has offices in Delhi and Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

"This investment comes at a very crucial time as we look to expand go newer horizons and embark on our mission to revolutionalise maritime procurement," Co-founder and CFO Sunny says on the investment.

In an earlier conversation with YourStory, Dhruv said, "We wanted to build an Amazon-like marketplace for the maritime industry."

According to the Economic Survey 2017-18, the Indian logistics market was expected to reach about $215 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 10.5 percent. Other global players in the space include companies like ShipServ and Moscord. While ShipServ is more of a marine directory of ship suppliers across the world, Moscord is a bulk-buying platform.

"ShipsKart’s mission is to support and reinforce the procurement or supply chain teams and processes in our maritime and offshore clients’ companies, leading to our clients saving a material amount of money on their operational purchases while obtaining reliable quality and assured delivery," Vivek Sahi, Co-founder and COO, ShipsKart says.

Earlier in 2018, ShipsKart was selected by PortXL (partners of Port of Rotterdam, Ernst & Young, Shell), as one of the most innovative startups. ShipkKart BV, the startup's Rotterdam subsidiary, had also received €100,000 from PortXL.