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    E-commerce startup StoreKing raises $16 million from Axiata Digital

    Synopsis

    Bengaluru-based StoreKing will use the funds to expand their team, enter tier III markets and tie up with 1 lakh retailers by 2017.

    ET Bureau
    BENGALURU: StoreKing, an assisted e-commerce startup, has raised $16 million (about Rs 106 crore) from Axiata Digital, a wholly owned subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad.

    Bengaluru-based StoreKing will use the funds to expand their team, enter tier III markets and tie up with 1 lakh retailers by 2017. " We have our presence only in South India, now we are planning to go pan India," said Sridhar Gundaiah, CEO of the five-year-old company.

    With presence in 1200 towns, StoreKing enables rural retailers to sell over 50,000 products to walk-in customers via its digital kiosks. The tablet in the kiosk is a gateway for both shopkeepers and their customers in small towns and villages to buy products not available locally. After an order is placed and the payment made, the company dispatches the package to the retailer in 24 hours to 48 hours.

    “StoreKing has created a platform that solves the fundamental constraints in ours markets with last mile logistics and payments, while building trust amongst mass market consumers,” said Khairil Abdullah, CEO, Axiata Digital, in a press release.
    According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report, about 92% of India's retail market is unorganised and dominated by local shops owned by individuals. Players such as StoreKing and IPay Tech are taking frugal technology to rural India where big companies such as Flipkart and Amazon have little or no presence.

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