Retailo, a B2B marketplace for small businesses (Kiryana stores), raised $36 million in series A funding from Graphene Ventures, 500 Global, Agility, Aujan, Tech Invest Com, Mentor’s Fund, Shorooq Partners, Abercross Holdings, Arzan VC, and AgFunder.
Elevator Pitch: Convenient and cost-effective inventory financing and procurement.
Tell me more: The size of the retail market in Pakistan is around $152 billion with over 1 million small businesses, according to Planet Retail.
Most of these are run by people with minimal financial resources who find it difficult to get competitive market prices. Procurement of goods is also an issue since the supply chains are mostly inefficient.
These factors make it impossible for retailers to meet their margins.
Retailo provides a one-stop solution for small businesses with their digital marketplace.
Small businesses and retailers can access a catalog of over 5,000 Stock-Keeping Units (SKUs) in Retailo’s mobile app. The goods are delivered to their doorstep in under 24 hours.
It also offers flexible payment options with Buy-now-pay-later services. So, retailers can get their supplies on time and at competitive rates.
The startup also provides data analytics services so sellers can evaluate sales performance and consumption trends.
You should know: Retailo was founded in 2020 by Muhammad Talha Ansari, Muhammad Nowkhaiz, and Wahaj Ahmed. It is headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with majority operations and leadership in Karachi.
Retailo’s funding now stands at $45 million with the new funding round. Making it one of the most well-funded startups in Pakistan.
Zoom Out: Retailo has grown to more than 10 cities in 3 countries, including KSA, UAE, and Pakistan, in just 18 months. More than 50,000 retailers use the app monthly. And with the fresh round of funding, it plans on expanding to even more cities.
Big Picture: The retail sector in the MENAP region is a $500 billion industry and has 10 million small businesses. This provides Retailo ample opportunity to expand its operations across the region.
It faces competition from Tajir, Bazaar, and Dastgyr.
One more thing: The series A round was a combination of venture equity and venture debt.
Nahda Fund provided the venture debt funding. It is common for startups that lend money to raise venture debt (loan) to fund such transactions.
