Rural commerce tech platform VilCart Raises $18 M (Rs 144 Crore) in Series A round
According to the company, VilCart aims to expand its operations to the entire South India by 2024, with the new investment.
Bengaluru-based on Friday has raised $ 18 Million (Rs 144 Crore) in a Series A funding round led by Asia Impact SA. Nabventures Fund and Texterity Private Limited also participated in the round.
Vilcart will look to expand its operations to include the entire South Indian region by next year and will use funds from this round for the same, the company said in a statement.
Unitus Capital was the financial advisor for the round.
Founded in 2018 by Prasanna Kumar and his co-founder—Amith S Mali—VilCart helps village kirana stores easily procure inventory and manage logistics and supply chains.
“VilCart aims to bridge the gap between rural consumers and the manufacturers/primary market by building a strong network," said Prasanna Kumar, Founder, VilCart.
NABVENTURES investment into VilCart has grown fourfold since 2021, says Rajesh Ranjan. "VilCart has added
50,000 new stores across South India. VilCart will use this funding to build on its portfolio of existing private-label brands, launch new products, geographic expansion and become Kirana’s preferred partner with a pan-India presence,” he added.
Currently, the company has reached 85,000 Kirana stores in 30,000 villages, covering 29 districts in Karnataka and one in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu respectively. VilCart expanded its size by 2.6 times to $25 Million in FY22, up from $9.6 Million in FY21.
Disclaimer: This story has been updated to include information about the financial advisor for the round and to correct an error about the founders.
Edited by Akanksha Sarma