Apnaklub raises USD 3.5 mn in seed funding round from Sequoia Capital India’s Surge

"This funding will enable us to expand across more rural areas in India as well as increase our range of services and products for our partners," Apnaklub Chief Operating Officer Manish Kumar said. (Representational image)

Business-to-business FMCG wholesale platform, Apnaklub, on Monday said it has raised USD 3.5 million (around Rs 26 crore) in a seed funding round from Sequoia Capital India’s Surge. The latest funding takes the total funds raised so far to USD 5 million (over Rs 37 crore), the company said in a statement.

The company connects retailers, including kirana and general stores in semi-urban and rural areas, to a wide range of consumer goods and brands via its network of digitally-connected wholesale partners.

“This funding will enable us to expand across more rural areas in India as well as increase our range of services and products for our partners,” Apnaklub Chief Operating Officer Manish Kumar said. With Apnaklub, he said, “we are providing wholesalers across the country with an organised supply infrastructure and digital tools to cater to the hyper-local needs of shopkeepers and large families around them.”

Apnaklub said its partner programme currently has over 5,000 wholesalers and provides personalised training and support to create sustainable wholesale businesses for themselves, while earning a commission on each order they fulfil. The startup said it also plans to layer other services onto its network, such as providing pricing and market intelligence data to small and large brands alike.