Retail-tech start-up SnapBizz raises $7.2 million

Bengaluru: SnapBizz Cloudtech Pvt Ltd, a start-up that devises technology for corner grocery stores, has raised $7.2 million in an investment round led by venture capital firms Jungle Ventures, Taurus Value Creation, Konly Venture and Blume Ventures to expand across cities.

The Bengaluru-based company, which was started in 2013, had earlier received seed funding of $1.7 million from Qualcomm, Jungle Ventures, National Research Foundation of Singapore, Taurus Value Creation and Blume Ventures.

SnapBizz provides grocery stores an Android-based, cloud-connected business platform in the form of a tablet, barcode scanner, printer and a consumer-facing LED display, with the technology enabling merchants to manage their billing, inventory and customer engagement.

“We are convinced with the SnapBizz business model, which brings a tailored technology solution to kirana stores and believe that it will play a large role in India’s retail growth story,” said David Gowdey, managing partner, Jungle Ventures.

SnapBizz is one of a small but growing number of start-ups like IPay Tech India Pvt. and StoreKing that aim to help small businesses like grocery stores to bridge the digital gap by targeting specific uses like payments or enabling e-commerce.

“We are thrilled that all ecosystem players have shown confidence in our solution and that our existing investors have reiterated their support to us,” Prem Kumar, chief executive officer, SnapBizz, said in a statement.

“Large retail and online players account for only 10-15% of any brand’s business. The remaining 90% happens through traditional trade and there is zero or minimal last mile connectivity between brands, consumers and retailers. We are on a mission to address this big gap while addressing the pain points of the kirana stores,” he added.

[“source-Livemint”]