IAN Leads Funding In Waterless Technology Startup Clensta International

Delhi-based biotechnology startup Clensta International has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Indian Angel Network and its maiden venture capital (VC) fund, IAN Fund, led by IAN members Rishabh Mehta, Pradeep Gupta, Anirudh Agarwal, and Sajiv Dhawan.

Other angel investors participating in the funding round include Ajai Chowdhry, co-founder, HCL; Arvind Singal, founder and MD, Technopak Advisors; Bikky Khosla, CEO, Trade India and chairman, ASSOCHAM; Jaideep Mehta, CEO, VC Circle; Raman Roy, chairman, NASSCOM, and Anand Ladsariya, founder, Everest Flavours.

The startup, which uses waterless technology, plans to use the funds to launch its products in the B2C space and develop newer products in the personal hygiene category.

As part of the deal, Rishabh Mehta, founder and CEO, LOCAD Pte Ltd, will take a seat on the board of Clensta International.

Clensta International: Making Waterless Products

Founded in 2016 by Dr Puneet Gupta and Prof Anurag S. Rathore, Clensta is working on Waterless Technology and has launched a range of waterless personal hygiene products which consists of waterless shampoo and body bath.

The company claims that these products are designed free of alcohol, parabens and SLS, or any other harmful ingredients to avoid the use of water in the bath.

With a vision of “universal access to innovative & exemplary hygiene centric healthcare solution”, the products can be directly applied to hair and body, massaged and then can be dried off using a towel.

Dr Puneet Gupta, Founder and CEO, Clensta International said, “We are honoured that IAN has recognised the potential of our brand and has invested their interest and expertise to help us strengthen our roots in the industry. Apart from the Monetary Benefit, IAN brings aboard a wide range of experience as well as opportunities from its Individual Investors which we believe will ensure Clensta’s exponential growth.”

Going ahead, Clensta is looking to explore alliances for a strategic partnership with Future Group, Apollo Pharmacy, Railways and Decathlon. The startup has already signed MoU with IIT Delhi. Clensta was accelerated by US Embassy (Nexus) in India and World Startup Factory in the Netherlands, where the company also has a subsidiary company by the name of Clensta International B.V.

Clensta had previously raised a seed round of funding led by Sanjeev Jain, an IIT Delhi Alumni, a Businessman and a seasoned Angel Investor.

The products are available on Government E-Marketplace (GeM), being supplied both to Government and Private Hospitals and have also been considered to be patronised for Indian Defence and Paramilitary Forces.

GeM was founded in August 2016 as a Section 8 company to facilitate the online purchase of goods and services for the employees of Central Government ministries and departments.

GeM offers over 4.2 lakh products on its platform through a network of over 1.3 lakh sellers and service providers. These products and services are being bought by over 25K government organisations (Central, State Governments, and PSUs registered on the platform.

Investors Thoughts

Rishabh Mehta, Lead Investor and IAN Nominated Board Director for Clensta Internation said that the future roadmap of the company is to continuously innovate and disrupt this space across various industry verticals.

While Pradeep Gupta, Lead Investor, Co-Founder, IAN said, “Most startups these days are venturing into the service segment and while a lot of big names have made their mark the service space is very cluttered. With Clensta we had something completely new, a Product based company with revenue generation happening from a very initial stage.”

Anirudh Agarwal, Lead Investor, IAN shares that every day they come across challenges that stress on the requirement of continuous innovation in order to provide the best possible solution.

“Challenging the dynamics of the biotechnology industry, Clensta International is all set to disrupt the industry with their gamut of unique products. Their work in the defence and hospital sectors is really commendable,” he said.

Problems related to water scarcity in India involve water stress, water shortage or deficits, as well as water crisis. To address the challenges of the future, the United Nations Development Goals for 2030 state that the governments and citizens must ensure availability and conservation of water and sanitation for all.

A report on environment accounts released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation revealed that the growth in India has come at the cost of its natural resources including water.

In such a dire situation, the interest of the investor fraternity on waterless technology is sure to provide a huge boost to reducing water problems and ensuring a better future for the generations to come.