Frendy, a Retail tech small format grocery chain has secured Rs 2 crore or about $239K in a debt funding round backed by UC Inclusive Credit.
The startup has collectively raised a total of Rs 42 crore to date including the debt.
Frendy’s existing investors include Auxano Capital, AT Capital (Singapore), Desai Ventures, Let’s Venture, MARV Capital (New York), and Metara Ventures (Singapore).
As per the startup, the funding will be used to feed its network of Frendy Marts & Micro Kiranas in tier III towns of Gujarat.
The firm claims to have a revenue of Rs 82 Cr for FY23 and aims to double its sales in the next 12 months as the brand expands its geographical footprint.
Frendy | Retail tech small format grocery chain
Founded by Sameer Gandotra in 2019, Frendy is building a network of modern neighbourhood grocery mini marts for consumers in small towns and villages of India.
As of now, startup operates 25 marts and 2,000 micro kiranas across rural Gujarat. It aims to scale it’s business to 100 marts and 3,000 micro kiranas in the next 12 months.
Frendy’s marts are also digitally connected to a cluster of micro-kiranas (mom-and-pop stores) and their end customers, allowing Frendy to build a last mile digital commerce bridge to serve a wider range of rural consumers.
Speaking about the development, Sameer Gandotra, Founder and CEO of Frendy, said,
“As we aim to scale our business 4x, we intend to raise equity and expand our credit lines. Having a lending partner in UCIC adds additional operational & financial discipline which is always good for early stage startups. We have achieved close to 40 annual turns of inventory at our central warehouse as we use our proprietary tech-enabled auto-replenishment system (ARS) to restock our marts and serve the micro kiranas. Such high inventory turns allow us to finance our Central inventory with a credit facility.”
