MSME focused startup Lal10 raises $5.5 million in funding led by Yuj Ventures, others
Five million in its pre-Series A debt and equity round led by Yuj Ventures and Beyond Capital Ventures. Of the funding, $4 million was in equity funding, while the rest was in the form of debt.
In addition to the angel investors, the funding round also included investments from Nitish Mittersain of Nazara Technologies, Bikky Khosla of TradeIndia, Ashok Gudibandla of Notion, and Kishore Ganji of Astir Ventures. The business claimed it would use the funds to grow throughout the United States, Japan, and the Middle East and to market more of its tech-based supply chain solutions to customers and technological advancements for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses.
“Looking at the potential of the MSME industry, Lal10 aims to reach a $100 million run rate in the next 12 months focusing on the home textile category,” it said. Founded in 2017 by Maneet Gohil, Sanchit Govil, and Albin Jose, Lal10 is a tech-enabled full-stack platform for craft-based MSMEs with over 2,200 craft MSMEs using the application to digitize their inventories for global wholesale and become skilled with contemporary design trends as well as source raw materials directly from factories.
“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 digitize the whole Indian craft industry and get them ready for global wholesale. Nevertheless, he continued, India has a manufacturing appetite of over $160 billion. It contains tier III and tier IV production centers 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 constructing a cross-border platform for enabling Indian craft-based MSMEs across the smaller villages and cities of India,” said Sid Yog, the founder of Yuj Ventures, an early-stage investment platform.
However, this industry is ready for disruption with the introduction of low-cost, widespread internet and cellphones in even India’s remotest areas. The untapped potential exists to use technology and software programs to overcome obstacles and create a robust global supply chain that links SMEs with retailers in India and abroad.
