BII Invests In Social-Commerce Platform Rozana
In March, Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) had already led a financing round of US$22.5 million for the Indian start-up Rozana. The social-commerce platform specializes in the delivery of everyday consumer goods to rural India, in collaboration with thousands of local micro-entrepreneurs.
To give millions of people in rural India easier access to everyday essentials in areas that are not or not yet covered by traditional e-commerce: This is the mission of the Indian start-up Rozana. As reported, Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) led a financing round of US$22.5 million for Rozana in March of this year, thereby acquiring a stake in the fast-growing company, which was founded in 2021 and is based in New Delhi.
Rural India is a market that is historically underserved by traditional e-commerce due to navigation and logistics challenges. Rozana circumvents these problems by using an e-commerce model in which the start-up draws on a network of thousands of local micro-enterprises that take care of orders and deliveries locally, potentially reaching a billion Indians. Through its partners, Rozana is already present in more than 12,000 communities in 13 districts of the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The opportunity in rural India is greatly underappreciated, and this team is the ideal one to unlock it,” commented Rohit Sood, a partner at BII, adding that Rozana’s offering is outstanding, and it is hard to find a company so beloved among Indian consumers.“
With gratitude, we welcome some of India’s formidable people on our board who have not only helped reshape the Indian tech ecosystem but also helped build India’s top start-ups,” said Rozana CEO Ankur Dahiya, and noted how thrilled she was that BII led the round and believes in Rozana’s vision to reshape the lives of a billion Indians. “With this funding, we will continue building out our logistics and supply chain infrastructure to reach new districts,” Dahiya added. The Indian financial paper “The Financial Express” recently bestowed its IndusWe award on Rozana’s CEO at the “Express Awards for Women Entrepreneurs 2024,” for her remarkable contributions to empowering local communities and promoting women entrepreneurship.
