Funding Alert
- ByAmbi Das | August 30, 2022
Simplea retail platform that focuses on software as a service (or SaaS), raised an undisclosed angel funding round led by Soonicorn LLP. A number of logistics investors, including Vaishnav Shetty (executive director and CDO of All-cargo Group), Pirojshaw Sarkari (CEO of Gati Ltd) and Saurabh Agarwal (ex-founder Fitso (acquired by Zomato), among others, have also participated in the round.
According to the statement shared by the company, the money raised will be used to grow Soptle’s national distribution network, expand product capabilities and expand staff.
Soptle has developed a one-stop-shop platform that eliminates disorganized and inefficient middlemen from the conventional supply chain by digitizing and rewarding FMCG companies. A $500 billion FMCG market is controlled by the approximately 10-15 million kirana outlets in India. This creates a promising opportunity for a platform like this to use technology to build a direct and capital-efficient distribution network for the maker and retail community.
Pravas Chandragiri, founder of Soptle, mentioned that he identified product assortment, regional brands, low margins and zero bargaining power as some of the biggest problems for small neighborhood stores, which led to start working to solve them and help kiranas grow and evolve.
He added, “We have a unique distribution approach to build the largest FMCG distribution SaaS platform in India that enables critical connections between FMCG manufacturers and distributors/wholesalers as well as retailers. It also enables FMCG manufacturers to supply products to millions of retailers across India, creating powerful and positive change for these stakeholders.”
According to industry estimates, India has one grocery store (kirana) for every 100 households. As a result, there are approximately one million kirana stores that could be potential customers for a retail business model, giving them the opportunity to compete successfully with contemporary retail options both online and offline and to grow their businesses profitably.
Soonicorn LLP, Partner, Saurabh Agarwal, said, “We are delighted to partner with Soptle as they address their vision to create a cutting-edge, lightweight, technology-driven model that enables FMCG manufacturers and retailers to increase their income. The company has achieved impressive growth in its retailer base in less than a quarter while simultaneously striving to improve the lives of the FMCG manufacturers it works with.
About Soptle
Soptle, a Saas 828 led retail micro-platform that was created in May 2022 by Pravas Chandragiri who started his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 17 and consolidated all his learnings and network to start Soptle. Using its national network of over 15,000 retailers, Soptle assists consumer goods companies in the distribution of their products. Soptle is a platform that also brings together 60 manufacturers and around 400 distributors.
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