MSME Devoted Start-up Lal10 Raises $5.5 Million In Funding

Yuj Ventures (Xander Group) and Beyond Capital Ventures led the $5.5 million pre-Series A financing and equity investment for Lal10, a wholesale cross-border marketplace for Indian craftsmen to sell their wares. Out of the total amount of cash, $4 million came from equity funding and the rest came from debt.

Additionally taking part in the round were Spiral Ventures, Singularity Ventures, Asymmetry Ventures, Blacksoil, Panthera Peak, and Pegasus FinInvest. Nitish Mittersain of Nazara Technologies, Bikky Khosla from TradeIndia, Ashok Gudibandla from Notion and Kishore Ganji of Astir Ventures, were among the angel investors who also invested in the funding round.

The business claimed that it will utilise the funds to grow throughout the US, Japan, and the Middle East as well as to market its tech-based supply chain solutions to customers and technological advances for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs).

According to the statement, "Lal10 intends to reach a $100 million run rate in the next 12 months, focusing on the home textile category, looking at the potential of the MSME industry." Lal10, a tech-enabled full-stack platform for craft-based MSMEs, was founded in 2017 by Maneet Gohil, Sanchit Govil, and Albin Jose. It now has over 2,200 craft MSMEs.

"Lal10 is developing the technologies needed for the upcoming craft revolution. Maneet Gohil, the company's chief executive, stated, "As a brand, we aspire to digitise the whole Indian craft industry and get them ready for global wholesale. A small number of production centres, including Panipat, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Jaipur, and Tirupur, account for the majority of India's $3.5 billion export GDP in creative goods. Nevertheless, he continued, India has a manufacturing appetite of over $160 billion and contains tier III and tier IV production centres like Bhagalpur, Pochampally, Maheshwar, and Amroha that have not yet gained international recognition.

The startup raised its seed round in March 2020 from a few angel investors and the US-based impact investment platform Sorenson Impact. "Lal10 is generating a systemic change with its efficient tech-enabled supply chain by providing a cross-border platform for enabling Indian craft based MSMEs across the smaller villages and cities of India," said Sid Yog, founder of early-stage investment platform Yuj Ventures.

The market for business-to-business or B2B rural sourcing is huge, incredibly disorganised, and geographically fragmented, according to Lal10. However, with the introduction of low-cost, widespread internet and cellphones in even India's remotest areas, this industry is ready for disruption. Untapped potential exists to use technology and software programmes to overcome obstacles and create a strong global supply chain that links SMEs.