India’s first silk-tech startup, ReshaMandi, which serves as a B2B marketplace for silk farmers, businesses, and retailers in India, announced a Series A funding round of $30 million, led by global alternative investment manager Creation Investments and other investors.
This round featured a mix of equity and some debt. The equity funding includes new investors such as 9 Unicorns, Venture Catalysts, Sandeep Singhal from Nexus, Brijesh Agarwal, founder of IndiaMART, and Omnivore, which also led the seed round of ReshaMandi.
Debt investors include Northern Arc, Alteria, Innoven, and Stride Ventures.
Founded in May 2020 by Mayank Tiwari, a NIFT gold medalist, Saurabh Agarwal, former Cisco Systems technologist and entrepreneur, and Utkarsh Apoorva, a serial technology entrepreneur from IIT Delhi ReshaMandi, provides a full-stack digital ecosystem, starting from farm to fashion.
ReshaMandi is currently one of the fastest-growing B2B startups in India, witnessing an increase of 30X in revenue in the first year of operation.
“This round of funding will allow us to expand into newer territories and operationalize our R&D work while helping further stakeholders reap the benefits of our innovations and efficiencies,” said Mayank Tiwari, CEO, ReshaMandi.
ReshaMandi has onboarded more than 35,000 small businesses spanning across farmers, SME manufacturers, and retailers onto its supply chain, impacting over $1.5 billion worth of the market in the first 15 months of its operations.
Its processes have helped increase small business incomes by 35-55 percent and the use of indigenous raw silk dramatically.
“ReshaMandi is built on relationships, and we are excited with the new partnerships we are entering with Creation and others,” Mayank said.
ReshaMandi plans to expand its agricultural business in all major silk-producing states across India while also establishing itself as a leader in weaving clusters like Banaras, Salem, Kanchipuram, Maheshwar, and Dharmavaram.
The company also aims to extend its retail footprint further into Agra, Kota, Gorakhpur, Dhanbad, Ranchi, Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Rajkot, Vadodara, Surat, Pune, Nagpur, Satara, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Madurai, Coimbatore, Kochi, and Kannur, over the next three to six months.
“Shortly after this round, a whole new range of saris and other fashion wear will be available in Tier-II towns in India where we are expanding,” said Utkarsh Apoorva, co-founder, and CBO, ReshaMandi.
“Our supply chain ensures that silk becomes affordable and is available to middle-class households across the country, with a design range and price points never seen before. This will change the way people in Tier-II shop for silk apparel,” added Apoorva.
