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Peer-to-peer (P2P) rural commerce startup Rozana raises USD 2.5mn in Pre-Series A round co-led by 3one4 & Europe’s IEG-Investment Banking Group

Rozana, a P2P rural commerce startup that leverages Tech and Data Science to cater to unique local demands of 1 billion Indians outside the scope of online commerce has raised USD 2.5mn.The round was co-led by 3one4 Capital & Europe’s IEG-Investment Banking Group and also saw participation from notable angel investors like Manisha Girotra, CEO, Moelis and Board Member, Prosus (formerly Nasper) and SK Jain, Co-Founder, Sequoia & Westbridge Capital. The funds will primarily be used to strengthen the platform’s tech capabilities and further expand Rozana’s presence in targeted geographies across the country including Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka.

Legacy brands and larger e-commerce companies find it tough to reach remote villages, or even generate demand in areas, while Rozana has an unconventional approach of working in predominantly rural and semi urban areas, which remains untapped. The unique village by village strategy of the platform is driving product innovation, demand and supply optimization for a new era of D2C brands for over 1 billion Indians.

Rozana is a full stack tech solution that enables micro entrepreneurs to give wider, innovative and competitive offerings to their end users. The entrepreneurs use the platform to onboard customers, share latest deals and help them place online orders, making last mile delivery efficient.

The platform is working on a roadmap to onboard 300 million users in the next 2 to 3 years. This silent tech revolution is not only empowering the consumers but also working towards incubating over 10 million tech micro entrepreneurs all over the country.

In nine months, Rozana has reached over 4 lakh households and is working on a steady month-on-month growth.

Speaking on the fundraise, Ankur Dahiya, Co-founder & CEO, Rozana said, ‘Rozana is a revolution brewing for over a billion Indians. Our day and night effort is to focus on empowering hundreds of millions of consumers through tech and a network of tech entrepreneurs.’

Commenting on the investment, Nitya Agarwal, VP at 3one4 Capital, said, ‘We are excited to partner with Rozana in their journey to revolutionize consumption beyond tier 1 in India. The team’s approach will serve as a feeder for discovery of consumer needs mapped at an unmatched scale and demographic depth. Rozana’s razor sharp focus to empower micro-entrepreneurs is truly admirable and we believe that the team has the potential to unlock new household spends in an incredibly efficient manner.’

Adding to it, Mihir Kapoor, IEG, said, ‘Rozana has a model which is successfully bringing online commerce to a huge Indian population. Moreover it can also bring panchayat wise data and the power to create demand and supply through a scalable tech model. We are equally excited for sustainable growth for Rozana rising 30% month on month with healthy unit economics.’

Aspirations in rural India are on the rise and racing against time to ensure the effective delivery of essential services to these areas. Built as a tech focused peer-to-peer commerce platform, Rozana envisions to become the leading P2P rural commerce platform in India, a sector which is projected to touch 70 billion USD in the next 10 years. Currently operating across Lucknow, Kanpur, Bengaluru, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida, New Delhi, Rae Bareli, Barabanki, Greater Noida, and Ghaziabad, Rozana is now looking to deepen its presence in UP, Haryana and Karnataka over the next 12 months.

Founded in 2021 by IIM, Harvard and St. Stephen’s alumni – Ankur Dahiya (Co-founder & CEO), Adwait Vikram Singh (CSO), Mukesh Christopher (COO) and Prithvi Pal Singh (CPO), Rozana envisions to become the leading P2P rural commerce platform.

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