Unaati by CBV, with the fintech partner Capital Trust, empowers India's micro-retailers with a Credit line

In the alleys of India’s bustling neighborhoods, beyond the glitz of malls and e-commerce giants, thrives a powerful but often overlooked force, the humble kirana store. These mom-and-pop shops, more than 12 million strong, are the heartbeat of India’s FMCG supply chain. Yet, for all their economic significance, most remain excluded from the formal financial system.

That’s about to change with the arrival of Unaati, a transformative platform built by CBV Ventures Private Limited to digitize and empower India’s micro-retailers. And with its newly announced partnership with the seasoned NBFC Capital Trust Limited (CTL), Unaati isn’t just solving a problem; it’s rewriting the rules of retail empowerment.

Unaati is not your typical retail-tech platform. It doesn’t aim to replace the kirana; it aims to elevate it. Built with empathy and precision, Unaati integrates seamless credit, logistics, and real-time analytics into the daily functioning of small-format retailers. This is not just digitization, it’s dignified inclusion and a revolutionary change to the retail-tech industry for the B2B segment.

At the heart of this game-changing collaboration lies a first-of-its-kind overdraft facility, specifically tailored for retailers onboarded via Unaati. Capital Trust Limited, with its deep experience in rural and semi-urban credit delivery, brings institutional-grade financial strength to the table. The product goes beyond transactional finance, it’s a working capital lifeline for businesses that run on trust, cash, and razor-thin margins.

Launching its pilot across 25 hubs and over 2,000 retailers in the National Capital Region by the end of June 2025, CBV Ventures Private Limited and Capital Trust Limited (CTL) expect to see a 40% rise in distribution capacity and a 3–5x increase in embedded fintech adoption, all in just 90 days. Those aren’t just projections; they are a reflection of what happens when infrastructure meets intent.

“Unaati is more than a platform, it’s a purpose,” says Ratanbhushan Gupta, Director at CBV Ventures Private Limited. “We’re not just giving credit lines but also ensuring to give power, predictability, and presence in a formal ecosystem that has long ignored these retailers.”

On the other side of this partnership, Vahin Khosla, Managing Director of Capital Trust Limited, adds, “We are not just financing small vendors. We are embedding credit intelligence into the very flow of commerce, minimizing risk and maximizing inclusion.”

In an economy where cash flow is king, the lack of timely, flexible credit can paralyze even the most resourceful retailers. Unaati changes that. Its smart design and digital-first credit workflow mean a kirana store can now replenish stock before shelves empty, not after. It allows a vendor to expand, not just survive.

But the true magic of Unaati lies in its quiet revolution. There are no flashy dashboards or jargon-laden apps. What it offers instead is reliability, relevance, and reach, the three things every micro-retailer needs but rarely gets from mainstream financial channels.

As the pilot rolls out, Unaati is not just delivering credit; it is restoring confidence to a sector that has for too long carried the weight of the economy without institutional support. And in doing so, it’s proving that real innovation in India doesn’t always look like a Silicon Valley unicorn. Sometimes, it looks like a shopkeeper restocking his shelves with ease, optimism in his eyes, and Unaati in his pocket.