Pune-based digital trade financing network Vayana Network Services Pvt. Ltd has raised $4 million (about Rs 26 crore) in a Series A round from IDG Ventures India Advisors Pvt. Ltd and Jungle Ventures Pte. Ltd.
Vayana had raised its first external round of funding led by Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd. A couple of other investors had also participated in the round.
“This funding comes at an exciting time with GST driving the digital invoicing ecosystem in India and in the backdrop of increasing velocity for trade-based financing led by third-party platforms, globally. We plan on offering several value-added services for our clients to help them take advantage of the trade data,†said R N Iyer, founder and CEO of the company.
Iyer had also co-founded CashTech Solutions, a cash management vending solutions provider, which was acquired by Nasdaq-listed Fundtech. He had previously worked with Accenture’s management consulting, financial services and logistics divisions. He has an MBA degree from IIM-Ahmedabad and an engineering degree from Mumbai University.
Vayana allows buyers and sellers to get their trade transactions reconciled, filed and financed. The company claims to be India’s largest technology-based third-party B2B trade financing platform, having processed over Rs 4,000 crores through nine lending partners across large and medium corporates, besides SMEs.
“Vayana Network has built a strong leadership position in the short-term trade finance space by bringing together suppliers, buyers and lenders on a single platform. With its role as a GSP, Vayana is in a unique position to bring the much-needed financing to the SMEs and help them grow faster,†said TCM Sundaram, founder and managing director, IDG Ventures India.
In May this year, Vayana had split from its parent company Vayana Pvt. Ltd in a slump purchase.
IDG Ventures India typically invests between $0.5 million and $10 million in startups. Its portfolio includes Lenskart, Zivame, Aasaanjobs, Firstcry.com, Forus Health, Perfint Healthcare, SilverPush, SuperProfs, Uniphore, Vserv and Xpressbees.
Singapore-based early-stage investor Jungle Ventures, which has Tata Sons Ltd’s interim chairman Ratan Tata as an adviser, had closed its second venture fund at $100 million in December 2016.
