B2B marketplace Solv raises $40 million in funding led by SBI Holdings

Solv will use the funds to launch additional high-margin product categories and expand to more than 300 cities across the country, and to drive expansion of its buy-now-pay-later loans, particularly in the new-to-credit segment, the company said in a statement Monday.

The firm also plans to expand its anchor-led retailer finance to an additional 50,000 retailers and is building a global tech stack from India to help expand operations in several countries in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Solv helps small and medium businesses trade in categories such as grocery and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), readymade clothes, electronics and accessories, home furnishings, and footwear and accessories. It currently operates in more than 200 cities across India, servicing more than 19,000 pin codes.

Yoshitaka Kitao, chief executive officer,

Holdings, said this was one of the firm’s largest investments in the region. “We are confident that Solv will become a global technology powerhouse and play a defining role in turbo-charging the growth of underserved MSMEs. Our investment in Solv is a reinforcement of our commitment to developing economies, especially India.”

Solv CEO Amit Bansal said, “At Solv, we are passionate about improving the livelihoods of millions of underserved MSMEs in India and globally. In a year ravaged by Covid-19, Solv has been able to establish itself as a dependable partner to more than 220,000 MSMEs. The learnings in India, and the resultant development in product, technology and platform is also enabling us to create workable models for MSMEs in other geographies across the world.”

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Alex Manson, head, SC Ventures, said, “The team’s obsession for the customer and their discipline of execution is impressive. Solv’s rapid growth since launch demonstrates the huge market potential in the B2B space. The partnership with SBI Holdings will help us accelerate the growth of Solv in India and expand its footprint globally.”