GramFactory, a business-to-business retail startup, has raised $1 million (approximately Rs 6.98 crore at current exchange rates) in a round led by Singapore-based venture fund Beenext, a report in online publication Entrackr stated.
Tracxn Labs; Amrish Rau, a top executive at payments firm PayU; Amit Lakhotia, a former vice president at mobile wallet Paytm; Ranjan Kant, principal data scientist at the Boston Consulting Group; Joshua Kurian, a top human resources executive at pharmaceutical firm Johnson and Johnson; and Nilmani Gautam, vice president at real estate investment firm NBK Capital also invested in the startup, the report stated.
Email queries sent to GramFactory, seeking confirmation on the fundraise did not elicit a response at the time of filing this report.
GramFactory helps local grocery stores to source products across categories including food and beverages, personal care and hygiene, confectionery and household supplies. The startup currently operates in Delhi and the National Capital Region.
According to its website, the company says its members can purchase items for resale in wholesale or bulk quantities.
Run by Addistro Technologies Pvt. Ltd, GramFactory was established by entrepreneur Navneet Singh, who also founded grocery delivery startup PepperTap.
PepperTap had shut shop in 2016 as the firm struggled to become profitable with deep discounts leading to high cash burn.
Besides PepperTap, Singh also founded an e-commerce-focussed reverse logistics platform Nuvo Ex, which got acquired by Shadowfax in 2017. He has also worked as vice president of strategy at logistics firm Delhivery.
In the business-to-consumer grocery space, well-funded ventures such as Grofers and BigBasket are the dominant players.
