Supply Chain Labs Announces First Close Of INR 75 Cr Fellowship Fund For Startups

Supply Chain Labs (SCL), an initiative by investment firm Lumis Partners, TCI Ventures, among others, has announced the first close of its purpose-specific fellowship fund at INR 75 Cr to help startups build a strong foundation for themselves.    

The SCL fellowship fund is a stage agnostic fund, which potentially invests up to INR 7.5 Cr in each startup. It selects, collaborates, and invests in 50 of the most high-potential supply-chain-focused startups through its fellowship programme, also recognised by Startup India.

The fellowship fund would be the vehicle through which SCL would be investing in its third cohort. It has 19 startups in its portfolio from its first two cohorts. These startups have witnessed more than five times value expansion, and more than 80% of these startups have raised follow-on capital, as per the programme.

Every year, SCL selects a distinguished group of 8-10 disruptive supply-chain-focused startups and provides them with capital (upto $3.5 Mn) and expertise in the area. It gets sponsorship and mentorship from Transport Corporation of India, Blacksoil, among others, and has various limited partners.

Since 2019, Gurugram-based SCL has been investing in distinguished startups that are disrupting supply-chain, warehousing, and logistics, providing guidance from industry stalwarts apart from capital. SCL interventions are custom designed for each startup, depending on whether they are in the early growth stage or already in a growth stage.

Making the announcement, Prajakt Raut, managing partner, SCL said, “SCL is a fund and platform that helps startups build a stronger foundation for scale. Our value-adds beyond capital are not purely on a best-effort basis but an integral component of our offering. Be it advice from industry veterans and subject-matter experts or market access via our partners.”

The significance of the supply chain was mentioned by the Finance Minister in her Budget speech earlier this month. Referring to PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, she said it is a transformative approach for economic growth and sustainable development and is driven by seven engines — roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways, and logistics infrastructure.

“Innovations in the supply chain can have a transformative impact on the country,” said Bharat Moossaddee, limited partner of SCL and former CFO of Mahindra & Mahindra. 

“I am therefore excited to guide emerging companies in building a robust foundation for scaling up and becoming category-defining leaders,” he said.

In the past few months, various supply chain startups have raised funds such as Increff, Bizongo, Porter, Ripplr, among others. Increff, which provides services to e-commerce, fashion, and retail brands, has raised $12 Mn in a funding round on February 20, attended by TVS Capital Funds, Premji Invest, and Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal’s 021 Capital. 

Further, B2B supply chain enablement startup, Bizongo has completed its maiden Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) monetisation program on February 14. As part of the program, as much as $3.7 Mn worth of ESOP was liquidated. In January, Bengaluru-based intra-city logistics startup, Porter, implemented its maiden ESOP worth $5 Mn.

In December last year, distribution and logistics startup Ripplr has bagged $12 Mn in a Pre-Series B funding round with a mix of debt and equity funding.