The rural-focused offline commerce startup Rozana has raised USD 22.5 million (about Rs 186 crore) from Bertelsmann India Investments, Fireside Ventures and existing investors.
The funding round also saw participation from Vivek Gupta, the co-founder of Licious, a statement by Rozana said on Wednesday.
Founded in 2021 by Ankur Dahiya, Adwait Vikram Singh, Mukesh Christopher and Prithvi Pal Singh, Rozana operates a commerce platform and logistics network focused exclusively on serving the needs of rural communities and claims to serve more than 12,000 villages across 13 districts in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
It uses a hyperlocal model utilizing village-based peer partners to make last-mile deliveries. This allows it to offer rural customers convenience through delivery to their doorstep while keeping costs low. It has a network of over 18,000 peer partners.
The funds will be used to expand Rozana's warehousing and logistics reach into new districts, enhance the technology platform, and boost hiring across technology, product and operations teams.
CEO Ankur Dahiya said with this funding, they will continue building out the logistics and supply chain infrastructure to reach new districts and empower rural communities with access to essential products.
