Ratan Tata invests in retail technology startup SnapBizz

Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata has invested an undisclosed amount in Bengaluru-based retail technology start-up SnapBizz. The company had announced a Series-A funding of $7.2 million led by Jungle Ventures, Taurus Value creation, Konly Venture and Blume Ventures in January this year.

Founded in 2013, SnapBizz currently works with more than 1,000 kirana stores (or neighbourhood mom-pop stores) across Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru. It aims to expand its footprint across other tier-I and tier-II cities.

"We are privileged to have Tata as an investor. As one of the most respected names in corporate India, Tata brings a rich legacy of doing business with a human touch. This reflects in his investment in SnapBizz as we have begun a humble journey of reverse marginalisation of small and medium businesses (SMBs) and driving digital inclusion in the large consumer goods industry,” Prem Kumar, founder and chief executive officer of SnapBizz, said on Monday.

"A visionary of Tata's stature showing confidence in SnapBizz is certainly a big boost for our business idea and will continue to accelerate the digital revolution in India's kirana stores. Brands are also seeing this is an opportunity to partner with us in order to be a well wisher of the retailers and get the share of mind of the retailer to appropriate the positioning as the company that cares for the retailers,” he added.

Stating that Snapbizz is on a mission to transform the face of small-scale retail sector in the country and empower kirana stores not only to be competition ready but to have a competitive edge by making them virtual super markets, the company said its solutions were designed and developed with an in-depth understanding of the business process of the kirana store.

The Snapbizz solution also enables smart store management and a digital connection to consumers, FMCG companies and distributors.

In a diverse market like India, where the traditional kirana stores make 98 per cent of store universe and 85 per cent of retail business, the Snapbizz solution is revolutionising kirana stores across the country by connecting all the dots of the fragmented FMCG ecosystem (brands, retailers, consumers, wholesalers and distributors) and addresses pain points of all stakeholders, the company said.