ElasticRun raises USD 75 mn from Kalaari Capital, others

Kirana commerce platform for rural areas ElasticRun on Thursday said it has raised USD 75 million about Rs 550 crore in funding led by Avataar Ventures, Prosus Ventures and Kalaari Capital.The new investment round will help the company expand its reach further into rural markets, enabling access for big consumer brands, food brands and e-commerce platforms to kirana shops, the company said in a statement.Over the last 18 months, our consumer products and food business serving the rural Kirana shops has seen dramatic growth.

Kirana commerce platform for rural areas ElasticRun on Thursday said it has raised USD 75 million (about Rs 550 crore) in funding led by Avataar Ventures, Prosus Ventures and Kalaari Capital.

The new investment round will help the company expand its reach further into rural markets, enabling access for big consumer brands, food brands and e-commerce platforms to kirana shops, the company said in a statement.

''Over the last 18 months, our consumer products and food business serving the rural Kirana shops has seen dramatic growth. The COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced focus for many brands towards rural markets, and our model has enabled us to deliver real value to them and grow our brand basket significantly,” ElasticRun Co-Founder and CEO Sandeep Deshmukh said. At the same time, he said, 2020 has seen one of the biggest growth spikes in the store network and e-commerce business. ''As we continue to extend our reach deeper into the country through our logistics and transaction platforms, we have also been adding new capabilities such as credit and analytics layers to the core platform. We expect 2021, to be our biggest year yet and are looking to more than triple our business over the next 12 months,” he added.