[Funding alert] Hyperlocal startup LoveLocal raises $18M in pre-Series B led by Vulcan Capital, others

LoveLocal, a hyperlocal ecommerce platform, on Thursday, said it raised $18 million (Rs 143 crore) in a pre-Series B round led by Vulcan Capital, with participation from Klarna Founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski’s Flat Capital and Alumni Ventures Group and Commerce Ventures.

Founded by Akanksha Hazari, LoveLocal’s current funding round marks the largest round ever raised by a solo woman tech founder in India.

Angel investors, including Nami Zarringhalam (Co-founder, Truecaller), Sriram Krishnan (General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz), Anna Lambert (Director of Product Acceleration at Shopify), Sarah Jones Simmer (CEO of Found, and ex-COO of Bumble), Arpan Sheth (Senior Partner at Bain & Company), and others, also participated in the oversubscribed round.

Existing investors — Blume Ventures, AC Ventures, HenkelX Ventures, and Chiratae Ventures — also invested, with Candy Ventures significantly increasing its ownership in this round.

Launched in January 2020, LoveLocal empowers local retailers and help digitise the $1.1 trillion unorganised retail market. The startup claims to have grown 40X since its inception. At present, it serves in over 35 cities and more than 1300 pin codes across India.

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In just 18 months, LoveLocal has signed up over 100,000 retailers and fulfilled more than one million orders. It continues to grow over 35 percent monthly.

LoveLocal boasts of one of India's largest online catalogues of daily essential items, with 55,000 products sold across 145 categories.

Akanksha Hazari, Founder and CEO, LoveLocal, said,

“We have always believed in the local retailer. They win on every consumer consideration: service, quality, product selection, value, credit, free and speed of delivery. Local businesses also account for more than 40 percent of jobs in India. They are the bedrock of our communities and the economy. LoveLocal is bridging the technology gap to ensure that our local retailers not just survive but thrive in India 2.0 and beyond.”

Anna Lambert, Director of Product Acceleration at Shopify, said, 

“Based on my experience in this domain, I have confidence in LoveLocal’s product and business model. I have met many founders and interviewed thousands of people, and in getting to know Akanksha and the team, it’s clear they have the smarts, experience, and grit to successfully build a high impact business at scale.”

“It's an honour to back Akanksha and LoveLocal. We first connected when I was leading Bumble's launch in India, and I was immediately struck by her vision, passion, and understanding of the market opportunity. To participate in this groundbreaking round is especially inspiring to me, given the chance I had to work for Whitney Wolfe Herd, Founder and CEO, Bumble, whose journey has helped pave the way for other women leaders around the world," added Sarah Jones Simmer, CEO of Found, and ex-COO of Bumble.