BENGALURU : Business-to-business (B2B) networking platform, Anar, has raised $6.2 million (about ₹45 crore) as part of its seed funding round co-led by Elevation Capital and Accel India.
This round also saw participation from First Cheque and Utsav Somani, partner at AngelList India.
Other prominent Indian founders, including Pratilipi’s Ranjeet Pratap Singh, ShareChat’s Farid Ahsan, Meesho’s Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal and BharatPe’s Shashvat Nakrani also participated as a part of this round.
The company will use the funds raised to strengthen its product and technology capabilities, it said in a statement.
Launched in February 2020, the Anar business app caters primarily to small-and-medium businesses (SMBs) across the value chain, from manufacturers to retailers and resellers, helping them connect and interact with one another.
“For all these years, SMB owners are used to getting business through their relationships and networks. With Anar, we want to enable owners to focus on something they are good at, i.e., building their network to grow their business. Anar is a 0-to-1 solution in this space with no other global peers, and we are humbled by our investors' belief in our team and our vision. These funds will help us deliver a world-class product for SMBs," said Nishank Jain, co-founder, Anar.
On the Anar business app, all retailers, resellers, wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers can create their own profiles, upload their catalogues, create posts, form connections, post requirements and interact with one another. Today, Anar focuses on onboarding businesses across multiple verticals, especially jewellery, clothing, grocery stores, footwear, leather products, and similar verticals.
“We’ve long believed in the power of networking to empower and turbo-charge businesses, but observed a gap in the MSME domain which is constrained by legacy relationships. Anar is taking a unique discovery-first approach to B2B relations (and commerce) and making it truly seamless for small businesses to create their digital presence and forge connections," said Amit Aggarwal, vice president, Elevation Capital.
Since launch, the platform has gained over 200,000 registered businesses on the platform.
“Anar is building a new business social network for SMEs in India. A more collaborative way of doing business, and something that hasn't existed in India before," Prayank Swaroop, partner, Accel India.
