B2B Ecommerce Platform Beldara Raises $7.4 Mn From Hindustan Media

B2B ecommerce portal Beldara has raised $7.4 Mn from Hindustan Media Ventures, receiving the first tranche of $4.2 Mn. 

The Mumbai-based startup will use the funds to enhance brand awareness and for its new venture in agro B2B products, ‘Farm 2 Globe’. 

Founded in 2018 by Pradeep Khandekar, Beldara is a global B2B marketplace linking international suppliers to buyers all over the world. The platform offers products across categories such as footwear, clothing, electronics, home appliances, and personal care. It also features products in other categories such as furniture; rubber, plastic and polymers; energy and power; office equipment; food and beverage; and, jewellery and gems. 

The company is also planning to raise Pre-Series A funding in the coming months to expand its presence internationally. According to data on Crunchbase, before the recent funding round, the company had raised $300,000 in its seed round in 2019. 

In the B2B ecommerce space, Beldara competes with several other noted Indian startups such as Udaan, Infra.market, Moglix, Power2SME and Pumpkart, among others. However, many of these deal in specific verticals. For instance, Infra.market, which entered the unicorn club in February, is a B2B online procurement marketplace for real estate and construction material that leverages technology to offer fair pricing and a smoother procurement experience for its customers. Similarly, Pumpkart deals in appliances and electrical products. 

While the B2C food and grocery ecommerce is roughly a $1 Bn revenue opportunity overall, the B2B ecommerce and O2O opportunity where businesses like kirana stores, hotels and restaurants, offices, etc are targeted online, offer a $60 Bn revenue opportunity, according to a Goldman Sachs report.

In order to increase the participation of foreign players in ecommerce, the Indian government hiked the limit of FDI in B2B ecommerce marketplace models to up to 100%.