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While India ’s urban universe isshifting from mom - and - pop memory to quick commerce platform , its rural side — home to more than 800 million people — still intemperately relies on offline businesses for day-to-day consumption . Wheelocityaims to metamorphose that untapped market to permit people live beyond the top 200 cities of the land easy grass online .
The Chennai - headquartered startup , founded in September 2021 , has pivoted from theearlier B2B supply chain businessfor quick Department of Commerce platforms into building a political platform to work due east - commerce access for people living in semi - urban . and rural areas , usually referred to as “ Bharat . ”
For a foresighted time , eastward - Commerce Department heavyweight Amazon and Walmart - owned Flipkart havetried to rap rural Indiato get deeper into the world ’s second - big internet market after China . The region has also pull inauguration includingMeeshoandRozana . However , Wheelocity founder and CEO Selvam VMS told TechCrunch that none of them could break that blank due to the access code problem .
“ Our approach to solving this problem is extremely singular , ” he say in an consultation . “ We are focalize on build a 100x good option for our consumers . ”
Wheelocity has commence the shift by offer freshly produced good including vegetables and fruits and groceries through its app . However , unlike traditional eastward - commerce platforms that sell products online , the inauguration has taken a “ phygital ” approach . This include electrical three - wheelers to let the startup take its products into villages physically daily to help gain the trust of consumer . These vehicles allow consumers localise orders using Wheelocity ’s app and get deliveries on their threshold .
Once they get used to it , consumers will start using the Wheelocity app at home , VMS predicted .
The executive director added that , unlike Wheelocity , which pop the question doorsill delivery daily , other east - commerce platforms utilise their take as long as a week to get product delivered in the same region . This makes it a challenge to deliver fresh consumable items and grocery .
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Wheelocity uses its existing supply chain , build for the early B2B clientele , to offer customers freshly produced goods and groceries faster . After pander them from third parties including farmers , the production attain consumers with Wheelocity ’s branding .
VMS sees the break , which silently started in October 2023 , as a $ 1 trillion - plus opportunity . He did n’t disclose the job - bear on figure but said the startup had a “ very , very good retention . ”
The startup presently offers its Es - commerce weapons platform in 3,500 villages in central Tamil Nadu and own 1,000 electrical vehicles to allow physical order - placing and deliveries . It has already established an operations office in Tamil Nadu ’s tier - II metropolis of Trichy to understand consumer ’ buying behavior well and get their feedback . Next , it contrive to surmount the business organization to 20,000 town and hamlet and flourish it to all five southerly states of India within the next 12 calendar month , take its platform to 10 million consumer .
Lightspeed , Wheelocity ’s existing investor , has indorse the late move by extend its Series A2 circle of $ 15 million . In July 2022 , the VC stock had led the inauguration ’s $ 12 million Series A round .
Alteria Capital , Anicut Capital , and VMS also enter in Wheelocity ’s fresh round of golf . Further , the round includes an unrevealed amount of debt , primarily to fuel the funding of its electric fleet .
Lightspeed partner Rahul Taneja tell apart TechCrunch that the VC fund resolve to reinvest into Wheelocity as the market size of it was significantly large and untapped and the startup create a singular business framework , “ which allows profitable coverage of the areas which were historically not possible . ”
The laminitis ’s caliber and passion for building a “ net - making business ” before pivoting also helped convince Lightspeed to end the deal , Taneja said .
propel focal point to smaller towns and hamlet in India has been an emerging drift in the VC market , as consumers in those areas often have disposable income and intent to buy . Earlier this class , Accel alsostarted looking at the regionto hunt for succeeding unicorn .
