OneCode raises $5 mn led by Sequoia Capital's Surge, Nexus Venture Partners

OneCode's mission is to digitise 50 million sales agents across India, and bridge the gap between brands and potential buyers

OneCode, a platform to digitise the sales ecosystem, raised $5 million in funding led by Sequoia Capital India’s Surge and Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from WaterBridge Ventures.

The funding of OneCode is also supported by angel investors Aakrit Vaish (Haptik), Amrish Rau (Pine Labs), Anand Chandrasekaran, Arjun Vaidya, Ashish Dave (Mirae Asset), Cloud Capital, Gaurav Munjal (Unacademy), Harshil Mathur (Razorpay), Jitendra Gupta (Jupiter Money), Kunal Shah, Lalit Keshre (Groww), Miten Sampat, Pravin Jadhav (Raise Financial Services), Rahul Mathur (Bimape), Sandeep Srinivas (Redcarpet), Sujeeth Kumar (Udaan), Sweta Rau, and Vivek Ananda (Bounce).

Founded by Manish Shara and Yash Desai, OneCode connects a network of trusted and accessible sales agents to a pool of potential customers who may not be as tech-savvy. The startup’s mission is to digitise 50 million sales agents across India, and bridge the gap between brands and potential buyers who may need in-person interactions and physical touch points before committing to a purchase.

"OneCode helps to provide brands with an outsourced sales army, which empowers people in tier-2 and tier-3 cities to become sales agents with a steady source of income. Even during these tough times, it's heartening to see how we can still provide our sales agents with livelihood from the comfort of their own homes," shares Manish Shara, co-founder of OneCode.

The size of India’s population and demographic distribution has often meant that up to 95 per cent of businesses in the country rely on an agent network to raise awareness of a product, and  get it in the hands of consumers. Additionally, many buyers often look for recommendations from someone close or familiar to them before making their purchase decision.

The platform works with a variety of financial institutions, such as banks, as well as discount brokers and credit card companies, like ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and RedCarpet. By using technology to mobilise this agent network, these companies are able to increase their distribution in tier-2 and 3-cities, said the company's statement.  

Pratik Poddar, principal, Nexus Venture Partners, said, "We believe that India is a unique market where you can create a lot of value by empowering distribution partners. Manish and Yash are solving a large problem for the 50 million agents and financial services institutions and we are very excited to back the OneCode team."

To ensure sales agents are best equipped with the relevant skills and product knowledge to work independently across the country, OneCode also provides agents with comprehensive on-the-job training. Through interactive videos, sales agents can better understand how to sell, whom to sell to, and ways in which they can maximise their earnings.

OneCode is part of Surge’s fifth cohort of 23 companies that have developed new digital solutions to help companies and individuals live, work and learn better in a rapidly evolving Southeast Asian landscape.