Industrybuying.com, an online B2B marketplace for industrial goods, has raised $1.8 million (Rs 12 crore) in debt financing from venture-debt provider Trifecta Capital.
The startup will use the money raised for its working capital requirements and to expand its enterprise business, Industrybuying.com said in a statement.
The B2B marketplace competes with Tolexo, Bizongo and Shotang and Moglix, besides other online players.
In December 2015, Industrybuying.com had received an undisclosed amount in angel funding from family members of the Chennai-based Murugappa and TVS groups. It’s also backed by Kalaari Capital, SAIF Partners and Teruhide Sato’s Beenext.
Nilesh Kothari, co-founder and managing director at Trifecta Capital, said that the firm also hopes to leverage its network of investors, including domestic institutions and industrial family offices to help Industrybuying scale faster.
Industrybuying was co-founded by siblings Rahul and Swati Gupta in 2013. Swati is a former Bain & Co employee and has 14 years of management consulting and private equity advisory experience in New York and India. Rahul, an alumnus of Columbia University, previously worked as a trader with Lehman Brothers.
The company claims to have about 3,000 registered small and medium enterprises on its platform offering an online catalogue of almost 300,000 products that are used in manufacturing, construction, maintenance, services and commercial operations. It counts companies in sectors such as consumer goods, hospitality, manufacturing, construction, automotive, pharmaceuticals, services and others as clients.
Trifecta Capital provides early-stage debt capital to Indian companies, mainly in the technology sector. It usually prices its debt at 15 per cent to 17 per cent. The firm also looks to acquire a stake in companies through cashless warrants or partly paid-up shares.