B2B Logistics Startup GoBOLT Secures $5.46 Mn From Aavishkaar

New Delhi-based B2B transportation solution provider GoBOLT has raised $5.46 Mn (INR 40 Cr) in Series A funding round from impact fund advisory firm Aavishkaar from its Aavishkaar Bharat Fund.

The company plans to use the funding primarily to strengthen its team, expand its presence across India, increase its fleet size, further develop its technology platform and also foray into allied business segments.

GoBOLT: Bowling Logistics For India

GoBolt was launched in October 2015 by Parag Aggarwal, Sumit Sharma and Naitik Baghla to provide solutions for the on-demand movement of goods between two major cities or ports or from a transportation hub to a final destination in the area.

GoBOLT also provides data services such as Fleet Management System, Control Tower Services, GPS Tracking, and Data analytics.

It serves categories such as automobile, ecommerce, food processing companies, etc. and its clients include PepsiCo and Tupperware, Philips, Cadbury, Panasonic, amongst others.

GoBOLT works on a hybrid model utilising owned and marketplace trucks. Its key focus is on two pillars –increased asset utilization enabled & disintermediation within the marketplace through technology

Parag Aggarwal, CEO, GoBOLT said, “We believe our model of using technology to integrate our drivers and vendor partners is transformational and enables their skill enhancement and financial & social inclusion. We are extremely excited to partner with Aavishkaar who shares our vision of driving transformation by creating value for all stakeholders.”

GoBOLT had earlier raised an undisclosed amount from Blacksoil Capital in November 2017 and Pre-Series A round led by startup incubator MCube8, a division of financial advisory firm MCube Capital in June 2016.

Aavishkaar: Making Big Bets

Aavishkaar was founded in 2001, with a vision to catalyse development in India’s underserved regions, it identifies capable entrepreneurs, provides them with capital, supplements it with a nurturing environment and helps build sustainable enterprises.

Aavishkaar has gone on to make more than 58 investments, across sectors and geographies and has raised six funds, delivering commercial returns with close to $300 Mn assets under management.

Aavishkaar raised $95 Mn in the first close of its $200 Mn Aavishkaar Bharat Fund, in November 2017. The investment is the second from the fund, which is targeting early-to-mid stage investment opportunities in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, clean technology, education and financial inclusion.

The firm is looking to attain the final close of the Aavishkaar Bharat Fund within the next 12 to 18 months.

The company has earlier made bets on startups like luxury lifestyle brand Mela Artisans (2014) and curated ecommerce platform Jaypore (2016), among others.

Recently, the fund has committed $5.3 Mn (INR 35 Cr) in Bengaluru-based packaged foods company, Kottaram Agro Foods.

Ajay Maniar, Partner, Aavishkaar Venture Management Services, said, “We are extremely excited about working with the team at GoBOLT who have demonstrated an unyielding focus on improving operational efficiencies through their technology platform. Logistics is a sector that is poised for transformation and GoBOLT has demonstrated that by leveraging the technology they are able to integrate and up-skill small fleet operators to deliver high levels of vehicles utilization, enable drivers to return home at a regular and pre-defined frequency and provide consistent and superior service to the customer.”

Indian Logistics Industry

In the logistics space, for international logistics, we have players like Cogoport, while in Indian logistics we have startups like BlackBuck, Rivigo etc who are enabling tech-based logistics services in the country.

At the same time we have ecommerce logistics startup Delhivery, which is now looking at its next phase of growth with a $350 Mn IPO (initial public offering) in the next few months.

Here are a few interesting facts about the Logistics industry in India:

• The Indian Government Economic Survey 2017-18 revealed that the country’s logistics industry which is worth around $160 Bn is likely to touch $215 Bn in the next two years with the implementation of GST, growing at a CAGR of 10.5%
• The Global Ranking of the World Bank’s 2016 Logistics Performance Index shows that India jumped to 35th rank in 2016 from 54th rank in 2014 in terms of overall logistics performance
• According to a report by investment bank Avendus Capital, the logistics tech market is expected to surge to $9.6 Bn by 2020
• Poised to touch $307 Bn by 2020, the Indian logistics sector has been witnessing increasing investments and competition
• Inc42 DataLabs revealed that the sector recorded 27 deals worth $475.83 Mn in 2017
• In Q1 2018, the sector witnessed 3 deals worth $70.3 Mn according to Inc42 Tech Startup Funding Report Q1 2018

In the highly competitive and growing logistics industry, Aavishkaar’s bet on GoBolt is huge bet which will be an interesting watch.