PROSUS VENTURES, Lead $40M Investment In India!

LOGISTICS STARTUP ‘ElasticRun’ SEES PROSUS VENTURES LEAD $40M INVESTMENT IN INDIA

A Series C financing round led by Prosus Ventures sees the company formally known as Naspers Ventures lead $40M logistics investment in India. This came as stores located in Indian villages, towns, and cities have proven tough to beat for e-commerce giants, based on this, advanced logistics chain retailers are currently at the mid of it. However, this has positioned e-commerce companies, fintech startups, and offline retailers in a race to work with these store owners.

Meanwhile, a Pune-based startup that came up with the idea to build a logistics network via these Kirana stores – declared that it has won the backing of a major international investor. The report saw the three-and-half year old ‘ElasticRun’ raise $40M funds, though other existing investors such as Kalaari Capital and Avataar Ventures also took part in the round.

Equally, ElasticRun works with thousands of these stores across two hundred Indian cities in order to have them deliver goods to other Kirana stores and consumers on a daily basis, especially during hours of downtime.

Responding to this development (Prosus Ventures edge), the CEO of ElasticRun ‘Deshmukh’ said: “Supply goods to these stores are fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands that are trying to reach the last mile in the nation. Nearly every top FMCG brand in the country today is a partner of ElasticRun”.

“It’s a win-win scenario for every stakeholder, he also added, “stores are getting access to more goods than ever, and also getting the opportunity to increase their business in slow hours. And for brands and e-commerce companies, access to such a wide-reaching delivery pool has never been easier”. Also, is the fact that each transaction has a digital log, based on this, he said, “The startup has a good idea about the financial capacity of these Kirana stores. This has enabled it to connect them with relevant financial partners to access working capital”.

“The startup will use the fresh capital to on-board more neighborhood stores and deepen its penetration in the country. ElasticRun is also working on new products to expand its offering for brands and Kirana stores and improving its analysis and machine learning algorithms to tackle larger scale”.

“By working with the network of small stores across the country, we solve that problem while helping the store owners grow their businesses at the same time. In addition, offering a flexible logistics extension to consumers’ goods companies to directly reach these small retail shops is a huge advantage over traditional distribution networks”. – Credit TechCrunch

In another development, the Head of Investments for India ‘Ashutosh Sharma’ – Prosus Ventures stated that: “ElasticRun is one of those rare businesses that identified a massive need in the market, matched it with a local solution paired with technology, for the benefit of all parties involved. Consumers get faster deliveries and greater choice of goods, store owners realize increased revenue and touchpoint with their customers, and consumer goods companies get better access and insight into their target audiences”.

It’s evident an ecosystem established by these companies will potentially enhance the supply chain and reduce losses.

• What do we expect from ‘Prosus Ventures’ after this achievement?