Funding story
B2B commerce is an extremely lucrative sector which is seeing new gains each day. The latest big venture is in regard, Shotang, recently managed to land a significant amount of funding. Founded in Aug 2013 by Anter Virk and Anish Basu Roy, it managed to raise around $5 million (Rs. 33 crore) in a round which saw participation by Exfinity Venture Partners. Unitus Impact also participated in this round.
About Shotang’s services
The rise of B2B ecommerce platforms has been driven by the previously unorganized nature of the commerce occurring between retailers, distributors and manufacturers. The resultant delays have greatly impacted the operations of many a venture. Shotang has now made it possible for ecommerce transactions to occur after a few touches of a smartphone, with all its services being brought on one app-based platform. The enterprise predominantly targets the mobile technology and apparel segments, ensuring that retailers can pay their sellers on a single platform. Side-benefits involve higher levels of retailer-seller trust, and greater transparency. Furthermore, Shotang operates its own logistics system. This results in comprehensive end-to-end services being provided. This greatly enhances the startup’s effectiveness. Reliance on any other logistical chains may have greatly increased cost and time overruns, and proved self-defeating for the enterprise.
Past achievements, and the road ahead
Having raised seed funding from Bitchemy Ventures, the startup has already gone from strength to strength. Over 3,000 transactions are being processed each week. The latest instance of funding is expected to further technological development and general expansion. The 2 categories which it currently services are likely to expand to 10-15 categories overall, in the near future. Shotang currently ensures monetization on the basis of commissions paid by distributors per transaction. The startup has worked hard to ensure better connectivity between distributors and retailers, and one hopes that its extreme efforts will pay off.
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