Exclusive: Online marketplace Nagpur Wholesale raises seed funding

Online marketplace Nagpur Wholesale, operated by Qualipros Technologies Pvt. Ltd, has raised Rs 1 crore ($143,000 at current exchange rates) in a seed funding round from Omphalos Ventures India LLP, a top company executive told TechCircle.

The startup will use the capital to hire personnel in various departments, Harish Pittulwar, founder of Nagpur Wholesale, said over the phone.

Pittulwar, who holds a diploma in mechanical engineering, set up the venture in 2016.

Nagpur Wholesale sells items ranging from groceries and vegetables to furniture and home appliances. It connects manufacturers and wholesalers to businesses and individual customers, Pittulwar said.

“We buy products in bulk at reduced prices and sell it to customers. We focus more on B2B because the costing and pricing are better and customers are more loyal,” he added.

The startup currently operates in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Pittulwar said he plans to expand operations to Indore in Madhya Pradesh and Raipur in Chhattisgarh, for which it will raise its second round of funding.

Pittulwar claims that close to 100,000 users visit the website per day.

Omphalos Ventures India

The venture capital firm, set up in June last year, invests in early-stage startups valued at $1-3 million. Its ticket size can go up to $300,000.

Till date, Omphalos Ventures has invested in 10 startups in healthcare, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, machine learning and analytics, transport and logistics, and power and energy. It plans to back around 30 startups by 2020.

In September, it invested Rs 4 crore in Bengaluru-based machine learning platform Mate Labs.

In May this year, it had invested in reverse auction-based e-commerce platform Arzooo.

In May, it led the pre-Series A funding round in FreightBazaar, an online platform which connects truck users and suppliers.