BigBasket raises $14.6 mn venture debt from Trifecta Capital

Online grocery delivery platform BigBasket has raised $14.6 million (Rs 100 crore) venture debt from Trifecta Capital. 

The funds will be used to meet the working capital and capex requirements of the company, including setting up new warehouses, strengthening the cold chain, setting up facilities for reprocessing of fruits and vegetables and for scaling-up its supply chain for the recently launched milk subscription business — BB Daily and its specialty vending machine business — BB Instant, an official statement said today. 

“We have a clearly identified use case for debt,” said Hari Menon, co-founder of BigBasket’s parent entity SuperMarket Grocery Supplies. “We are present in 26 cities and continue to optimise our supply chain. A significant part of our business is fresh fruits and vegetables, the bulk of which is sourced directly from farms. It is crucial that we maintain the quality right up to the last mile. Funding such capex requirements is best done through debt.” 

In May 2019, Bengaluru-based BigBasket raised $150 million (about Rs 1,040 crore then) in a funding round led by South Korean firm Mirae Asset. The UK government's development finance institution CDC Group and existing investor Alibaba Group also participated in that round.

"The five founders – Hari Menon, V Sudhakar, Vipul Parekh, VS Ramesh and Abhinay Choudhari - have significant offline and online retail experience,” Nilesh Kothari, co-founder of Trifecta Capital, said. “They have leveraged economies of scale, technology, supply chain and logistics, backward integration and product mix to create a viable, high growth business that is delivering significant value to its customers. They are backed by very high quality and deep pocketed investors. We are excited to continue to be able to support the growth needs of this newest Indian Unicorn.” 

Recent venture debt deals

• July 2019: Consumer-electronics startup boAt raised Rs 16 crore (approx $2.31 million) from venture debt firm Innoven Capital.
• July 2019: Healthtech startup mfine raised Rs 31 crore ($4.5 million) in venture debt from Alteria Capital.
• June 2019: Lendingkart Technologies, which runs an eponymous digital lending platform, raised Rs 80 crore ($11.4 million) in venture debt from Alteria Capital.