Medikabazaar, a business-to-business (B2B) online marketplace for medical supplies, is raising Rs 200 crore ($28.7 million) from venture capital firms in its Series B funding round.
The Mumbai-based company said in a statement that its existing investors will participate in the funding round. These include Delhi-based venture capital fund HealthQuad, Japan's Rebright Partners and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance’s VC arm, and Belgium-based Kois Invest.
The startup plans to use the funds to expand its fulfilment centres, strengthen its technology infrastructure, make last-mile delivery more efficient and invest in logistics automation. It also plans to use the funds to enter smaller cities and towns as well as potential acquisitions.
The company didn't specify the breakup of funding to be raised from the investors. But co-founder Vivek Tiwari told Mint that existing investors will contribute about half of the targeted fundraise and that the company is raising both equity and debt capital.
Medikabazaar, operated by Boston Ivy Healthcare Solutions Pvt. Ltd, was started in April 2015 by Tiwari and Ketan Malkan. Its B2B e-commerce marketplace lets customers to buy medical devices and hospital supplies directly. It connects hospitals and clinics with manufacturers, distributors and re-sellers of equipment and consumables.
The company's platform list the offerings under broad categories such as medical equipment, medical devices, consumables, disposables and hospital furniture.
Medikabazaar had raised around $1 million in a pre-Series A round from Rebright and other investors. In October last year, it secured $5 million in a Series A round led by healthcare-focussed venture capital firm Healthquad Advisors.
Healthquad is led by Amit Varma and Abrar Mir, the founders of private equity firm Quadria Capital.
A clutch of other investors also took part in the Series A round. These included Rebright Partners, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital and Kois Invest.
Medikabazaar is one of a large number of health-tech ventures that have raised funding from investors in recent years. Another company in the segment where Medikabazaar operates is DrStore, which operates an eponymous B2B marketplace for medical supplies.
Mumbai-based DrStore raised pre-Series A funding from Equanimity Ventures in December last year.