The latest round follows the $340 million Series E funding the company raised in December last year led by M&G Plc with participation from existing equity investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global.
Founded in 2016, udaan claims around 70 per cent market share in online B2B trade market, operating across FMCG, staples, fruits & vegetables, and pharma categories. (Image: freepik)
Online B2B wholesale trade platform udaan, which focuses on small and medium businesses, on Monday announced the closure of its new debt funding of around Rs 300 crore from Lighthouse Canton, Stride Ventures, InnoVen Capital, and Trifecta Capital. The latest round follows the $340 million Series E funding the company raised in December last year led by M&G Plc with participation from existing equity investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global.
The current investment will be deployed to scale geographical footprint through micro-market strategy along with optimising operations by enhancing go-to-market (GTM) capabilities, streamline supply chain processes, invest in opening new micro-fulfilment centres (MFCs), the company said.
Speaking on the investment, Kiran Thadimarri, Senior Vice President, Group Finance, udaan, said the new round is an endorsement of the consistent quarter-on-quarter growth achieved by the company over the last ten quarters through its various ‘customer-first’ initiatives.
“This funding will further strengthen our financial position, providing the flexibility to double down on key strategic initiatives such as expanding our cluster model to drive operational excellence enabling us to continue on our path to profitability while solidifying our market position,” said Thadimarri.
Founded in 2016, udaan claims around 70 per cent market share in online B2B trade market, operating across FMCG, staples, fruits & vegetables, and pharma categories. The company also offers credit and cashflow management solution for SMBs under its fintech arm udaanCapital.
“This funding round underscores our confidence in udaan’s strategic direction and its ability to drive sustainable growth for small businesses across India,” said Ankit Agrawal, Executive Director, Lighthouse Canton.
udaan said it is on track to achieving profitability, with a 60 per cent revenue growth and over 50 per cent increase in daily transacting buyers, driving deeper market penetration and increasing wallet share among retailers.
Additionally, it said the gross margins have improved by 200 basis points and contribution margins by 300 basis points year-to-date, alongside a 20 per cent increase in buyer wallet share and monthly repeat ratio of over 90 per cent. During the period, udaan said it has achieved a 30 per cent drop in absolute EBITDA burn.
Content retrieved from: https://www.financialexpress.com/business/sme-b2b-trade-platform-udaan-raises-rs-300-crore-debt-from-lighthouse-canton-stride-ventures-others-3650836/.
