Bengaluru-based cross-border raw material sourcing platform Ximkart has raised $2.4 million in a Seed funding round led by Matrix Partners India, with participation from Multiply Ventures, Better Capital, and Citius Ventures.
Marquee angel investors such as Sujeet Kumar of Udaan, Hans Tung of GGV Capital, Nipun Mehra of Ula, and founders of OfBusiness and Zetwerk also participated in the round.
Founded in 2022 by IIT and IIM alumni Sharan Urubail and Ankush Mittal with a mission to be the primary source of raw materials for manufacturers globally – and has set out to reinvent how importing works. The startup aims to simplify importing of raw materials by providing better discovery, quality, transparency, and accountability while eliminating multiple middlemen in the supply chain.
Ximkart will use the raised capital to strengthen its position in existing categories, launch new categories, and expand to newer geographies – across procurement, sales, tech, and operations.
“Ximkart has been launched with the aim of enabling our MSMEs to churn out better quality products at better prices to help them compete with the best in the world. Up until now, only some of our country’s biggest manufacturers have been able to tag their sourcing capability as “world class” – while a large majority of our manufacturers have for decades depended on the broader trader/importer ecosystem to source their requirements,” said Sharan Urbail.
“Our platform provides manufacturers with direct access to the best raw materials from across the globe – along with easy payment and logistics solutions to make the entire procurement process seamless. Our goal is to significantly contribute to the journey India is making towards being a global manufacturing epicentre,” Sharan adds.
Speaking on the investment, Sudipto Sannigrahi, Principal, Matrix India, said “India is poised to become the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. One of the key pieces to make that happen is a strong global sourcing platform for raw materials critical to manufacturing. Sharan and Ankush bring years of experience of having worked in B2B marketplaces across geographies. We are excited to partner with them as they solve the raw material importing process for global manufacturers supplying to India.”
With over 20 lakh manufacturers registered in India, India imports more than $175 billion worth of raw and semi-finished goods every year. This brings a large opportunity in consolidating the raw material import industry with a fully integrated product through supply chain consolidation and source-to-factory tech products – across product discovery, credit, and logistics. Ximkart said it is currently serving over 50 manufacturers across multiple raw-material categories.
Source @Indianstartupnews
