IndiaMART to raise Rs 100 crore to expand, acquire start-ups

The company is considering investing in start-ups in related segments such as fintech and logistics to speed up its expansion

IndiaMART.com, which has been focusing on business to business offerings to small and medium enterpreneurs, is looking to raise more than Rs 100 crore next year to expand its offerings to large companies and new areas of business.

The company is also considering investing in start-ups in related segments such as fintech and logistics to speed up its expansion, said Dinesh Agarwal, founder and CEO, IndiaMART.

The company has raised over Rs 100 crore recently, in a series C funding led by Amadeus Capital with participation from Westbridge Capital, Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund managed by Quota Capital.

The money will be used for investments into expansion of its business offerings to areas which could benefit the company's customers, including acquiring stake in start-ups that have related operations. 

The investment will also go into its retail online platform Tolexo.com, which offers materials required for micro and small industry in small quantities.

Recently, the company has invested in ProcMart, a business to business market place which helps the buyers to get connected with suitable sellers and a step ahead, to get the best three quotations on which they can take a decision on,  in a pre-series A funding.

While it has been focusing on small and medium industries earlier, it has identified that large scale companies also connect to its platform for purchases and has started addressing the big buyers with a focus on them. The company would be looking for another fund raising next year, to take its plans further.

It claims that around 20 million buyers access to three million suppliers through the platform for their business requirements. It has around 100,000 paid customers and expertise into 80,000 product categories.

It has posted a revenue of around Rs 300 crore with a growth of 42 per cent growth from previous year. It is aiming at increasing the revenue to over Rs 2000  crore by 2020, said Agarwal.