India's Bizongo gets $22m round
Indian business-to-business packaging marketplace Bizongo has raised a $22 million Series B round led by B Capital and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Existing investors Accel Partners and IDG Ventures also participated in the funding round, to which IFC contributed $5 million, according to a disclosure. Additional financial details have not been revealed. The company will use the fresh capital for investments in its technology platform and establish teams in local markets, with the aim of standardizing its service across regions and product categories.
Bizongo was founded in 2015 and operates an online platform that connects sellers of packaging materials and products with corporate and small-business buyers, mainly in the retail, consumer goods, food and hospitality, and e-commerce industries. It claims to have nearly 7,000 buyers on its platform, including prominent brands such as Myntra, PepperFry and Hindustan Unilever.
India’s packaging industry was worth INR1.4 trillion ($20.5 billion) in 2015, according to a report by PwC and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, and has experienced annual growth of around 14%. But it is highly unorganized, with more than 30,000 suppliers operating across geographically fragmented markets.
Bizongo aims to make it easier for companies to choose a supplier by providing a curated marketplace of 200 manufacturers working to standards set by the company’s in-house design studio. It has recently added a financing vertical to offer credit to small and medium-sized enterprises to meet working capital needs.
IDG led Bizongo’s Series A round in 2016, with participation by Accel, which had invested an undisclosed amount of seed funding in 2015.
B Capital, a venture capital firm established by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, is currently investing its first fund, which closed at $360 million earlier this year. The GP invests in healthcare, financial technology, industrial logistics and consumer enablement companies worldwide that are ready to scale globally.
Bizongo represents the firm’s third investment in India, following deals for point-of-sale payment system maker Mswipe and contract management software developer Icertis.
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