Ula, an Indonesia-based e-commerce marketplace for small retailers, announced it has raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Quona Capital and B Capital Group. Existing investors Lightspeed India and Sequoia Capital India also participated in the round.
Launched in January 2020 by former Sequoia Capital and Pine Labs executive Nipun Mehra along with Alan Wong, Derry Sakti and Riky Tenggara, Ula said it currently services 20,000 small stores in Indonesia, primarily in East Java. It has offices in India, Indonesia and Singapore.
The company is focused on digitising their supply chain, inventory and also helps them manage their working capital.
“Small stores are deeply integrated into the economic and cultural fabric of Indonesia. They are micro-entrepreneurs with highly cost-efficient operations compared to their modern retail counterparts,” Mehra said. “However, their small scale, limited upstream product availability, high prices, poor service and limited working capital makes them the most vulnerable segment of the retail value chain.”
“Ula is transforming the entire retail value chain with its retailer-first approach, empowering the small retailer by offering them a wide range of products, competitive prices and doorstep delivery,” said Ganesh Rengaswamy, Managing Partner at Quona Capital.
The company’s current focus is on servicing the FMCG and staples categories but said small retailers in categories such as electronics and apparel also face similar problems, which it is solving.
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