5 rising startups in India – April 1, 2017

Photo credit: greenartphotography / 123RF.

It’s April Fool’s Day. But this is no prank. Here are five startups making merry with funding.

BigBasket

Photo credit: rklfoto123 / 123RF.

India’s leading online grocery delivery site BigBasket has secured US$7 million in venture debt from Trifecta Capital. The money will go towards building its warehousing and cold storage infrastructure. BigBasket had raised US$150 million in a series D round led by UAE-based Abraaj Group last year.

A number of grocery delivery startups have shut shop over the last year as funding dried up and unit economics did not add up. The biggest to fall was PepperTap backed by Sequoia and Snapdeal. BigBasket could face a challenge from Amazon which has been experimenting with grocery delivery in India.

See: Here comes the grocery price war in India

Rooter

Photo credit: Chubby Chandru.

Mumbai-based Rooter, a social engagement app for sports fans, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from consumer electronics manufacturer Intex. “Intex’s understanding of the smartphone world in Tier-2 and 3 cities of India will help us to promote and develop Rooter,” says Rooter CEO and founder Piyush Kumar in a statement.

The funding is timely as the cricket season is in full flow with the Indian Premier League starting next week. Intex director Keshav Bansal is also the franchise owner of Rajkot-based IPL team Gujarat Lions which ended up on top of the league table last season.

See: India’s startups learn to play in the IPL

Icertis

Photo credit: Pixabay.

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup Icertis, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington with offices in Mumbai and Pune, has raised US$25 million in series C funding led by B Capital. Icertis’ cloud-based software helps enterprises manage their contracts globally. It helps companies standardize procurement across multiple suppliers.

“In today’s hyper-competitive world, forward-thinking enterprises are recognizing the need to transform their commercial foundation with an enterprise-wide contract management platform,” says Icertis CEO and co-founder Samir Bodas in a blog post on the funding. Icertis has clients in 90 countries, including companies like Microsoft, Daimler, 3M, and ABB.

See: 5 tunes making Indian SaaS rock on the world stage

Adurcup

Photo credit: gregorylee / 123RF.

Delhi-based Adurcup provides a platform for restaurants to procure everything form packaging and housekeeping products to food. It also helps them manage their backend processes and payments. Adurcup is reported to have raised two-thirds of a planned US$500,000 pre-series A round from undisclosed corporate investors.

Food tech startups have been among those hardest hit by a funding crunch following the hype of 2015. Adurcup appears to be bucking the trend with a business-to-business (B2B) play.

See: Starving foodtech startups in India hit a five-year funding low

Hasiru Dala

Waste-pickers in Bangalore with their “green brigade” jackets. Photo credit: Lakshmanan Selvaprakash.

Bangalore-based Hasiru Dala Innovations has raised an undisclosed amount in funding from impact investment firm Ennovent. Hasiru Dala innovations are aimed at eco-friendly urban waste management.

Hasiru Dala, which means “green brigade” in local language Kannada, initially came to the fore with its initiatives to integrate Bangalore’s legions of waste-pickers into the formal system in partnership with government authorities. Waste-pickers got identity cards that legitimized their work and gave them access to healthcare and scholarships for their children.

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