Bengaluru based B2B wholesale platform for FMCG, has raised US$3.5 million in a seed round from Sequoia Capital India’s Surge. This brings the total funds raised by the company so far to US$5 million.
“With Apnaklub, we are providing wholesalers across the country with an organised supply infrastructure and digital tools to cater to the hyper-local needs of shopkeepers and large families around them. This funding will enable us to expand across more rural areas in India as well as increase our range of services and products for our partners,” said Manish Kumar, Chief Operating Officer of Apnaklub, in a statement.
Apnaklub is a B2B wholesale platform, which connects retailers including kirana stores and small merchants to a wide range of consumer goods via it’s network of wholesale partners.
Kiranas are considered the backbone of the retail industry in India. There are over 12 million such stores in the country, contributing almost 11 per cent of the GDP. However, this is a highly unorganised segment and has a number of loopholes. One of the concerns is the minimum amount or quantity to buy from the distributors. Being financially constrained, many kiranas are left with limited amounts of options and stocks.
Apnaklub claims to address this gap by connecting wholesalers to these retailers with a diverse range of SKUs, no minimum orders and competitive prices. It is an app based platform where retailers can place orders and get goods delivered to them. The startup’s agent-led solution, called ‘Apnaklub Partner Program’, currently includes over 5000 wholesalers. The company is also planning to layer other services such as providing pricing and market intelligence data to SMBs and big brands alike.
Founded in July 2020, by Manish Kumar and Shruti, Apnaklub is part of Surge’s fifth cohort of 23 companies that have developed new digital solutions to help individuals and companies in the Southeast Asian landscape.
