In India, the grocery sector expanded online as consumer behaviour changed in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Urbanisation, tech-savvy consumers, and the social isolation brought on by the epidemic have all contributed to the sector’s rapid growth.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that Dunzo, a hyperlocal delivery service based in Bengaluru is in final talks to raise about $50M from Reliance Retail Ventures Limited and Google in a new financing round.
This comes after the company secured $240M led by Reliance Retail Ventures Limited. Reliance Retail, helmed by Mukesh Ambani, had purchased a 25.8% fully diluted share in Dunzo for $200M.
The financial discussions are now taking place mostly with existing backers, TechCrunch quoted sources as saying.
Looking for more funds
According to a report, the startup has been attempting to obtain funding for several months and was hoping to raise at least $70M and as much as $150M.
Dunzo competes with Swiggy’s Instamart, YC Continuity-backed Zepto, Tata-owned Bigbasket, and Zomato’s BlinkIt for a piece of India’s retail sector, which is expected to expand to more than $800B by 2025, according to brokerage company Bernstein.
Dalvir Suri, Mukund Jha, Kabeer Biswas, and Ankur Aggarwal created Dunzo in 2015 to connect customers with nearby stores and suppliers, facilitating deliveries of groceries, prescriptions, meals, and other everyday requirements.
Dunzo is now available in seven Indian cities. The startup launched its ‘Dunzo Daily’ rapid delivery model in Bengaluru earlier this year, and it has experienced a week-on-week increase of more than 20%. The Dunzo Daily model, which focuses on delivering high-quality fruits and vegetables, fulfills daily and weekly needs in 15-20 minutes.
The grocery delivery startup is backed by Reliance Retail, Google, Blume Ventures, Aspada Investments, Lightrock, LightBox Ventures, STIC Ventures, Alteria and 3L Capital.
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