Apna Mart To Raise $25 Mn As 15-Minute Delivery Race Heats Up

Franchisee-driven quick commerce startup Apna Mart is looking to raise INR 214.3 Cr (around $25 Mn) in a funding round led by Nandan Nilekani-led Fundamentum Partnership.

Existing investors, including Peak XV Partners and Sparrow Capital, will also participate in the funding round, with Accel India joining Apna Mart’s cap table.

The transaction will be a mix of equity and debt. While INR 176.3 Cr will be in the form of equity infusion into the company, the rest will be debt. 

Fundamentum Partnership will lead the round with INR 84 Cr investment, followed by Accel India VII (Mauritius) Limited at INR 61 Cr and Peak XV Partners at INR 17.4 Cr. Sparrow Capital, Disruptors Capital and Alteria Capital will inject the remaining funds.

Apna Mart plans to use the proceeds to meet its general corporate requirements, as per filings sourced from the Registrar of Companies.

The development was first reported by Entrackr.

Founded in 2022 by Abhishek Singh and Chetan Garg, Apna Mart delivers groceries in under 15 minutes in Tier II and III cities. It competes against Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and IPO-bound Zepto, which currently dominate the quick commerce market.

Apna Mart leverages its franchise outlets for quick deliveries of daily essentials, electric appliances, personal care products, beverages, stationery, among others.

This is in stark contrast to the approach taken by the likes of Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto, which have embraced a dark store model for their quick commerce operations.

As per data intelligence platform Tracxn, Apna Mart has raised $40 Mn in total funding till date. 

Rising Quick Commerce Competition: The latest fundraise by Apna Mart comes amid rising competitive intensity in India’s rapidly growing quick commerce sector. Amid growing popularity of 15-minute deliveries, several quick commerce startups are now seen cropping up in the sector and moving beyond just grocery delivery.

These include companies like Snabbit, Topmate, Swish, Zing and FirstClub, among others. Urban Company is the latest to jump on the quick commerce bandwagon with its 15-minute maid booking service – Insta Help. 

Investors are also showing strong interest in the sector. Quick commerce unicorn Zepto raised over $1 Bn in funding in 2024 alone. Earlier this month, Delhi NCR-based Swish raised $14 Mn from investors, including Accel, to scale its 10-minute food delivery offering.

And this is not without reason. Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto clocked sales worth nearly $1 Bn last year. These companies are also charting a path of profitability. Blinkit is expected to achieve breakeven by Q3 FY26, while Instamart will hit adjusted EBITDA breakeven by Q1 FY28, as per brokerage firm Bernstein.

As per a report by Deloitte, the Indian quick commerce market is poised to become a $40 Bn opportunity by 2030. 

Apna Mart Crosses INR 60 Cr Revenue In FY24: Apna Mart’s operating revenue jumped 84% to INR 59.4 Cr in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 32.2 Cr in FY23. Including other income of INR 3.6 Cr, total revenue stood at INR 63 Cr during the year ended March 2024.

However, the growth in top line came at the cost of its bottom line. Apna Mart’s net loss surged 52% to 33.1 Cr during the year under review from INR 21.8 Cr in the previous fiscal year, as per filings sourced from Tofler.

In line with the surge in sales, Apna Mart’s overall expenses shot up 78% to INR 96 Cr in the reported period from INR 54 Cr in the fiscal prior.

Procurement costs emerged as the biggest expense head for Apna Mart. The spending under this bucket surged 85% to INR 58.5 Cr in FY24 from INR 31.6 Cr in FY23.

Total cash and cash equivalents stood at INR 1 Cr at the end of March 2024 as compared to INR 1.8 Cr at the end of March 2023.