IndiaMART Continues Investment Spree, Invests In HRTech Startup Zimyo

As part of its ongoing investment blitzkrieg, IndiaMART, has now invested INR 17 Cr in SaaS-based human resource startup, Zimyo.

The investment will enable the B2B marketplace to diversify into other domains. The investment is part of IndiaMART’s long term plan to build a ‘holistic ecosystem’ for all business needs.

Speaking about the announcement, IndiaMART CEO and founder, Dinesh Agarwal, said, “Apart from their core Payroll and attendance management modules, we also feel that there is immense potential in Zimyo’s vision of providing comprehensive HR management modules and other benefits to employees as well as employers. This investment is another step towards IndiaMART’s long term vision of providing a holistic ecosystem for all business needs, and we are excited to partner with the Zimyo team for their next phase of growth” 

Founded in January 2018 by Kumar Mayank and Ajay Kadyan, Zimyo is an SMB-focused startup that offers SaaS-based human resource management software for its clients. The platform allows users to carry out HR processes like payroll management, performance management, among other things.

Zimyo is backed by marquee investors like BEENEXT, AngelList and other angel Investors including Sweta Rau and CRED’s Kunal Shah. In September of 2020, Zimyo had raised $1.5 Mn in a seed funding round led by BEENEXT. With the current investment, the startup has so far raised $3.7 Mn in funding from VC firms.

The startup claims to have worked with more than 500 organisations so far and has reportedly served more than 1 Lakh users via its products. 

Zimyo competes with players like greytHR, Zoho, BambooHR, among others.

On the other hand, IndiaMART is an Indian B2B marketplace behemoth that links buyers and suppliers. It was founded in 1996 by Brijesh Agrawal and Dinesh Agarwal and has, since, grown as a major player in the segment.

The company claims to have 143 Mn buyers, 7 Mn sellers, and more than 80 Mn products on its platform. The company boasts of witnessing 40 Mn business enquiries every month, clocking a consolidated revenue of INR 756 Cr in FY21. 

The move is part of IndiaMART’s ongoing investment spree. Some of its other investments include:

• The B2B marketplace invested INR 13 Cr in cloud based financial accounting startup, Realbooks in February this year. 
• In February, the Noida-based B2B etailer had also acquired a 26% stake in Japan-based end-to-end commerce enablement startup, IB Monotaro, for INR 104.2 Cr. 
• In January, IndiaMART also acquired accounting software startup, Busy Infotech, for INR 500Cr.
• In January too, the company also upped its stake in inventory workflow startup, SimplyVyapar, along with a stake in legal workflow startup, Legistify. 
• In April last year, IndiaMART had acquired a 26% stake in Gurugram-based Shipway Technology for INR 18.2 Cr. 

The B2B marketplace competes against new age tech companies including Udaan, DealShare, among others.

Meanwhile the market continues to soar to newer heights. As per a report by Research and Markets, the global B2B ecommerce market size is expected to reach $ 20.9 Tn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 17.5% during 2020 -2027. 

The report also highlighted that the Asia Pacific region held the largest revenue share exceeding 65.0% in 2019 in terms of B2B ecommerce and is expected to expand at a CAGR of over 18% during the forecast period.

The investment likely points to a long term strategy in the minds of IndiaMART executives. The company also seems to have taken a leaf out of Delhi-based internet company, Info Edge. Both companies have undertaken rapid expansion via slew of investments and acquisitions.