CashFlo, a supply chain finance startup, has raised $8.7 million (Rs 70 crore) led by General Catalyst with participation from existing investor, Elevation Capital, the company announced on Tuesday.
Elevation had previously invested in CashFlo’s initial fundraising in 2019.
Angel investors including Jitendra Gupta (Jupiter); Amrish Rau (Pine Labs); Nitin Gupta (Uni); Rangarajan K (FiveStar); Gokul Rajaram, Whiteboard Capital, Atrium Angels among others participated in the funding round.
The company declined to comment on the valuation.
The fresh funds will be used to expand the market in India’s enterprise segment and invest in core products and technology. The company said, funds will also allow the company to grow its product lines for the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) function, invest in core technology and expand its category leadership in the vendor financing automation market in India.
CashFlo, which is operated by Valor Innovations Pvt. Ltd, was founded in 2017 by Ankur Bhageria and Dushyant Agarwal. CashFlo helps businesses automate core finance processes and manage their cash flows better.
“Over the past 3 years, we have invested in our product and technology capabilities to stay ahead of the market and bring a differentiated value proposition to our clients. Our 100% client retention rate since inception is a testament to our ability to deliver value on the ground for our customers,” Bhageria said.
Both co-founders Bhageria and Agarwal had earlier worked with Boston Consulting Group. Bhageria is an alumnus of Sardar Patel College of Engineering and Indian School of Business. Agarwal is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta.
Bhageria said despite B2B payments in India totalling $11 trillion, managing cash flows for most businesses is a complex and draining process; cash-rich businesses want better treasury returns whereas cash-strapped businesses want to pay vendors later. The pandemic created significant stress in supply chains and the need for working capital among SMEs has only grown owing to the elongated credit terms that were negotiated by their buyers during the last 2 years.
The platform helps buyers pay for goods and services early and earn over 12% returns which the company claims to be risk-free returns or pay later and unlock up to 180 days of working capital while ensuring robust GST compliance among suppliers and automatic payment reconciliations.
“The pandemic and current macro environment are constant reminders that cash and liquidity are key indicators of business health. We have seen an acceleration in adoption of B2B payments solutions globally as businesses try to cope with volatility and believe innovative players like CashFlo face a large opportunity ahead,” said Alex Tran, Managing Director, General Catalyst.
In recent times, General Catalyst has invested in healthtech startup Orange Health $25 million cheque co-leading with Bertelsmann India Investments. It has also invested $2.5 million in blockchain-based e-sports fan engagement startup Stan.
CashFlo, a supply chain finance startup, has raised $8.7 million (Rs 70 crore) led by General Catalyst with participation from existing investor, Elevation Capital, the company announced on Tuesday.
