1K Kirana raises $25 mn, aims to serve over 10 mn consumers in 12 months

Hyperlocal shopping and distribution network says it will use the financing for improving its technology and expanding team.

1K Kirana, a hyperlocal shopping and distribution network, has raised $25 million in its Series B round of fundraise led by Alpha Wave Ventures, Info Edge Ventures and Kae Capital. Manufacturing firm Zetwerk and tech-enabled automobile service firm GoMechanic were among investors in the round, the first tranche of a larger round.

Navroz D. Udwadia, founder and partner, Alpha Wave, said 1K Kirana co-founders Sangeetesh Kumar, Abhishek Halder and Sachin Sharma have built a business that combines strong growth with attractive unit economics. “We are excited to partner with them as they bring a modern retail experience to underserved consumers in India’s $600 billion grocery market,” said Udwadia.

“The 1K Mall app has already enabled lakhs of non-urban Indians to shop online for the first time. We believe the 1K team is building an iconic company that is transforming how non-urban India shops for their daily needs by widening their choices with higher quality, affordable options. The founding team is exceptional in their execution and we are very excited about strengthening our partnership with them,” said Kitty Agarwal, partner at Info Edge Ventures.

“The 1K team with their unique model have been able to leverage the Kirana network, the oldest form of social commerce, to build a robust consumer-centric business,” said Gaurav Chaturvedi, Partner at Kae Capital. “Within a span of 2 years, they have emerged as the leader in the B2B2C grocery e-commerce with a very strong unit economics. We continue to believe in the vision of 1K to bring consumer aspirations closer to them in the smaller cities of Bharat.”

1K’s founding team said that in the next 12 months, the firm aims to serve more than 10 million consumers across 100 districts through 5,000 franchise stores. “Our partners are as much a part of our family as our consumers and employees,” said the founders. “Technology plays a big role in every decision we make and every process and function we build. We would not have been able to scale so fast without our unwavering commitment to build inclusive technologies for our communities and consumers. It is imperative that we keep on investing in people to build sustainable technologies that last a lifetime and impact millions.”