Bhagwandas Retail Pvt. Ltd, which runs business-to-business (B2B) artisan platform Lal10, on Tuesday said it has secured pre-Series A funding of $5.5 million (Rs 42.9 crore) co-led by Yuj Ventures (Xander Group) and and early-stage venture firm Beyond Capital Ventures.
The round also saw participation from Spiral Ventures, Singularity Ventures, Asymmetry Ventures, Stride Ventures, Trica's investor Network, Blacksoil, Panthera Peak and Pegasus FinInvest.
Founded in 2017 by Maneet Gohil, Sanchit Govil and Albin Jose, LAl10 is a Noida-based online marketplace that connects Indian artisans with bulk buyers across the globe. It has an aim reach a $100 million run rate in the next one year, with a focus on the home textile category.
The company plans to use the fresh money to expand its global footprint across the US, Japan and West Asia. It also aims to scale its tech-based supply chain solutions to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“As a brand, we intend to digitize the craft industry in India and prepare them for global wholesale. India's $3.5 billion export GDP in creative produce comes from a handful of production hubs like Panipat, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Jaipur and Tirupur. But, India has a production appetite of over $160 billion with tier III and IV production hubs like Bhagalpur, Pochampally, Maheshwar and Amroha, which are yet to come on the global map,” said Maneet Gohil, co-founder and chief executive officer of Lal10.
Yuj Ventures is the investing arm of the Yuj platform. Backed by the family office of Sid Yog, Yuj Ventures invests in new and innovative ideas and companies, helps rapidly growing companies scale in emerging markets and enables networks, alliances and joint ventures that support emerging markets' entry.
"By building a cross-border platform for empowering Indian craft-based MSMEs across the smaller towns and cities of India, Lal10 is creating a systemic change with their efficient tech-enabled supply chain,” said Sid Yog, founder of Yuj Ventures.
In 2020, Lal10 raised $1.1 million in a pre-Series A funding led by US-based investment firm Sorenson Impact.
