[Funding alert] B2B marketplace Yojak raises $3.8M in pre-series A round led by Info Edge Ventures

Gurugram based B2B marketplace Yojak has announced that it has raised $3.8 million in a pre-series A round led by Info Edge Ventures. The round also saw participation from existing investors Kae Capital and angel investor Arun Venkatachallam.

Construction focused global investor Foundamental and founders of B2B startups such as Zetwerk, MedikaBazaar, Bizongo, and Blackbuck, as well as angel investors such as Anupam Mittal, Sanjiv Rangrass also participated in the round.

According to a statement by the company, the latest funding will be used to build teams across tech and non-tech roles, develop new tech solutions, and expand into new markets and categories. 

Founded in 2019, Yojak aims to help enable a smoother supply chain and fulfillment for small retail stores by working directly with manufacturers, and providing a full stack value proposition starting from discovery, delivery to financing. It claims to be the only startup in the building materials sector that has built a direct  loop  between retailers and manufacturers on a single platform.

Over the last 12 months, the startup has also made in-roads into the international markets of both developed and emerging economies with a focus on building strong brands in export markets across European Union, America and the Middle East. 

“Born in a family with a building material manufacturing business, we realised that there is a significant gap in the building materials supply chain , with most businesses relying on traditional means for supply of materials, resulting in limited accessibility. Due to poor demand predictability small manufacturers also struggle with inefficiency in inventory cost as well as an inefficiency in manufacturing overheads."

"We wanted to build a platform to cater to this space and we aim to do so with the right team and tech solutions,” said Rachit Garg, Founder, Yojak.

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Utilising proprietary technology, the company said it has built practical solutions for each stakeholder ranging from procurement, sales, logistics to operations. Yojak also claims to be one of the fastest growing startups in the B2B ecommerce sector, scaling 10x in the last 12 months. 

Commenting on the investment, Kitty Agarwal, Partner at Info Edge Ventures, said,

“Yojak has been able to tech-enable an inefficient and opaque ecosystem of manufacturers, wholesalers, and small retailers in the building materials supply chain. Starting with tiles and sanitary ware, it deals in non-standard, local, unbranded supplies between local manufacturers and retailers in Tier-II,III,IV cities across India. These regions still struggle with access to broader catalogues of SKUs, broken fulfilment and lack of stable pricing along with quality assurance.

Yojak’s full stack solution -- right from discovery to delivery accountability -- has got great traction in India and key export markets. This is the youngest team we have ever backed and they have been exceptional in execution.”

“Building materials is a very large, unorganised, and non-digitised space. Retailers in  Tier II & III cities/towns still struggle with access to broader catalogues, broken fulfillment, and lack of stable pricing. We believe that Yojak's approach of providing a full-stack product right from discovery to delivery is the best way to solve this industry in the long term. We have been impressed with the team's deep understanding of the space and great execution, we are very excited to continue backing them as they disrupt this market,” added Gaurav Chaturvedi, Partner at Kae Capital.