Ruraltech Startup Hesa Raises $2 Mn Seed Funding From Venture Catalysts And 9Unicorns Co-founded by Vamsi Udayagiri and Hema Nandiraju in 2019, Hesa unifies value chains in rural India by enabling local brands and businesses to come together as a community
By Prabhjeet Bhatla •
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Telangana-based rural tech startup, Hesa secured $2 Million financing as part of its Seed round led by Venture Catalysts. Connecting Bharat with India phygitally, the startup is redefining rural commerce by providing Last Mile Physical & Digital and Social Connect to Rural India. Manish Modi of Mastermind Capital led the funding round at Venture Catalysts (VCats) along with Accelerator Fund, 9Unicorns. The round also saw participation from Inflection Point Ventures, We Founder Circle, Keiretsu Forum, Faad Network, Startup Angels Network and Salil Chakrabarty Innovation Fund.
Co-founded by Vamsi Udayagiri and Hema Nandiraju in 2019, Hesa unifies value chains in rural India by enabling local brands and businesses to come together as a community. Complemented by the on-ground network on Village Level Entrepreneurs, Hesa's tech-led platform empowers businesses to reach, showcase, demonstrate, convince, and transact with their customer base of more than 850 million across all remote and rural regions in the country. Further, Hesa's value proposition targets a space that lies at the intersection of India's fintech sector and agritech sector, projected to be worth $84 billion and $24 billion, respectively, by 2025.
"The entire fund-raising experience has been a phenomenal journey in itself. I have met many amazing people, learnt from every interaction, and grown so much along the way. It is a great validation that Hesa's model resonates with so many. I look forward to every Indian village being powered by our innovative model as we work towards realizing our vision to be rural India's largest integrated marketplace that enables ease of commerce and enables livelihoods at scale. Easy To Pitch, a one stop platform for founders to be investment-ready, provided a great support to make Hesa pitch ready for this fundraise," said Vamsi Udayagiri, founder and chief executive officer, Hesa.
Considering its multidimensional revenue model bolstered by a diversified portfolio, Hesa is already generating high GMV and profitable margins. Every transaction on Hesa's platform generates revenue, further supplemented by marketing and service-based income from rural promotions and activations, rural contract staffing, promotions on the Hesa app, etc.
"Hesa is reinventing the wheel for rural commerce in India. Their last-mile marketplace coupled with a hybrid physical-digital model makes Hesa a company to watch for over the next few years. As they attempt to populate the vast majority of India's villages with their network of 'Hesaathis,' Vamsi and Hema have an impressive long-term vision. They have combined it with a human touch that promises to make Hesa a responsible company, high growth, and impactful," Manish Modi, managing partner mastermind capital and lead investor, VCats.
Commencing its operations from April 2020, Hesa has embarked on a high growth trajectory, accruing gross revenue of $4 million to date while witnessing a 15 per cent average monthly growth and a 65 per cent retention rate.
