CityMall raises $22.5 mn in funding from General Catalyst, others

CityMall, a community-based e-commerce venture, on Tuesday said it has raised USD 22.5 million (about Rs 167 crore) in funding, led by General Catalyst and Jungle Ventures.

The series B round also saw participation from existing investors, Accel, Elevation Capital and WaterBridge Ventures, a statement said.

Citymall will use the fresh funds towards hiring, technology and building their own logistics network, including warehouses and hubs, it added.

Further, the company intends to strengthen its presence in the existing 40 towns in its network, and aims to expand its reach to 100 new towns in the coming months, the statement said.

Citymall has raised USD 36.5 million till date. In March, CityMall had raised USD 11 million funding, while it received a USD 3 million seed investment in May last year.

Founded in 2019, by Angad Kikla and Naisheel Verdhan, CityMall is a homegrown community-based e-commerce platform targeted at consumers in tier II, III and IV towns and provides income opportunities to a network of micro-entrepreneurs called community leaders.

"We are building CityMall with a vision to transform their experience with the internet - by providing them with access to earning opportunities as well as affordable products and services. CityMall is pioneering a unique community led e-commerce channel of distribution targeted at Bharat users," Angad Kikla, co-founder of CityMall, said.

Citymall co-founder Naisheel Verdhan added that the platform gamifies the journey of community leaders and provides them with technology and consumer analytics to run and grow their virtual digital stores, while the customer app offers a simple and personalised buying experience for end-consumers.

Recently, the company has expanded beyond daily-use products like groceries and FMCG products, into fashion, electronics, electrical appliances, cosmetics and others.