ReshaMandi raises $30 million from Creation Investments, others

ReshaMandi, India’s first silk-tech startup that serves as a B2B marketplace for silk farmers, businesses, and retailers in India, announced a Series A funding round of $30 million, led by global alternative investment manager Creation Investments and other investors. This round featured a mix of equity and some debt. The equity funding includes new investors such as 9 Unicorns, Venture Catalysts, Sandeep Singhal from Nexus, Brijesh Agarwal, founder of IndiaMART, and Omnivore, which also led the seed round of ReshaMandi. Debt investors include Northern Arc, Alteria, Innoven, and Stride Ventures.

Founded in May 2020, ReshaMandi provides a full-stack digital ecosystem, starting from farm to fashion. The company was founded by Mayank Tiwari, a NIFT gold medalist, Saurabh Agarwal, former Cisco Systems technologist and entrepreneur, and Utkarsh Apoorva, a serial technology entrepreneur from IIT Delhi. ReshaMandi is currently one of the fastest-growing B2B start-ups in India, which is witnessing an increase of 30X in revenue in the first year of operation.

“This round of funding will allow us to expand into newer territories and operationalize our R&D work while helping further stakeholders reap the benefits of our innovations and efficiencies,” said Mayank Tiwari, CEO, ReshaMandi. “On a personal note, I would like to thank each and every one of our customers, suppliers, investors, and of course the ever-growing ReshaMandi team.”

ReshaMandi has on-boarded more than 35,000 small businesses spanning across farmers, SME manufacturers, and retailers onto its supply chain, impacting over $1.5 billion worth of market, in the first 15 months of its operations. Its processes have helped increase small business incomes by 35-55 per cent and the use of indigenous raw silk dramatically.

“Shortly after this round, a whole new range of saris and other fashion wear will be available in Tier-II towns in India where we are expanding,” said Utkarsh Apoorva, co-founder, and CBO, ReshaMandi. “Our supply chain ensures that silk becomes affordable, and is available to middle-class households across the country, with a design range and price points never seen before. This will change the way people in Tier-II shop for silk apparel.”

ReshaMandi plans to expand its agricultural business in all major silk-producing states across India while also establishing itself as a leader in weaving clusters like Banaras, Salem, Kanchipuram, Maheshwar, and Dharmavaram. The company also aims to extend its retail footprint further into Agra, Kota, Gorakhpur, Dhanbad, Ranchi, Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Rajkot, Vadodara, Surat, Pune, Nagpur, Satara, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Madurai, Coimbatore, Kochi, and Kannur, over the next three to six months.

“Technology remains the core foundation for us,” said Saurabh Agarwal, chief technology officer, ReshaMandi. “With this round, we can enable contributors with financial solutions that will boost their production via scientific advisories and improvements, give access to a democratized marketplace, and the ability to create products that are of high quality and set the stage for international recognition, which is long due for Indian silk.”

Tyler Day, partner at Creation Investments, said, with India producing 30 per cent of the world’s silk and still needing more to meet demand, companies like ReshaMandi can make the whole silk supply chain run more efficiently. “Ultimately, this benefits the whole ecosystem – from farmers and weavers to clothing manufacturers and buyers,” said Day.

Reshamandi's proprietary AI and IoT technology is bringing in transparent and inexpensive solutions to the finer fabrics issues in India while closely working with farmers to streamline the silk industry and utilizing ReshaMandi app especially curated for farmers’ productivity. The firm aspires to further strengthen its position in this supply chain with this fresh round of capital. It aims at creating a zero-waste circular economy that will have a significant social, environmental, and economic impact for all the stakeholders of the silk supply chain.