IndiaMART
all set for first round of funding for expansion of online B2B
services
New
Delhi, January 30, 2001. IndiaMART.com, one of the
first Indian B2B online marketplaces, is all set for the launch
of its transaction enabled B2B platform, and will simultaneously
go for its first round of funding in the first quarter of year
2001.
Having formed strategic alliances with YourImporter.com, Texas
and SGS, Geneva for its online B2B transaction platform,
IndiaMART is in a process of talking to venture capitalists for
its first round of funding. The company plans to raise a capital
to the tune of $3-5 million to be invested in new technology &
payment solutions and online marketing of its B2B services. It
also proposes to add to its existing network of marketing
offices strategic Indian locations with high density of
export-oriented businesses, as well as offices at overseas
locations.
"Unlike most Net-based ventures that rely on
seed-capital to take off, we have religiously done our homework
in last five years to build a successful self-sustaining online
B2B marketplace, making increasing profits year after year. It
is now, after we are ready with our B2B online transaction
platform with an established base of international buyers and
sellers, that we have decided in favour of external funding in
order to accelerate our growth plans in the coming months,"
says Mr Dinesh Agarwal, CEO, Indiamart Intermesh Ltd.
IndiaMART was started in 1996 with a small personal investment
by Mr Dinesh Agarwal, a software engineer belonging to a trading
business family, who had returned to India after having worked
with AT&T and Novell in the US, to start his own venture.
The company, today known as IndiaMART InterMESH Ltd., engages
over 145 professionals and operates through its head-office in
Delhi and branch offices in Mumbai and Bangalore, supported by a
nationwide network of marketing & service franchisees.
Incorporated as one of the first online business directories in
the country in association with ASSOCHAM, Indiamart.com today
holds India's largest B2B database with over 60,000 listed
businesses and more that 1000 B2B catalogues in
place under 450 product/service categories. Currently,
over five lakh international buyers visit the portal
every month, accounting for more than 5 million pageviews
on the portal, representing one of the highest figures in the
world in the B2B segment. Indiamart.com generates more than 1,00,000
trade queries every month through which its member
businesses are estimated to have conducted a business worth
Rs 600 crores in the last financial year alone. The
marketplace has a strong client base in the Indian SME segment
engaged in international trade. Having built several B2B vortals
for key Indian industries, Indiamart commands a strong presence
on popular international and Indian search engines, which it has
developed through the years by way of strategic online
promotion.
The new B2B transaction platform will offer facilities like B2B
reverse auctioning, ETOs (Electronic Trade Offers), RFQ/RFP
(Request for Quote/Request for Proposal) along with business
support services like business finance, logistics, insurance
etc. to facilitate online trade.
"Our new online platform offering B2B catalogues,
auctions, trade offers and other online business support
services will bring online the 'action' that was so far being
initiated at indiamart.com, but being finalised offline in the
form of an offline B2B transaction. This will make the entire
process more efficient and beneficial for participating
businesses, whereby sellers will get the highest price for their
inventory and buyers will be able to interact with multiple
sellers at the same time for their business requirements,"
adds Mr. Agarwal.
In order to ensure a lucrative market of foreign buyers on its
platform, Indiamart.com has made a strategic alliance with its
US counterpart- YourImporter.com, a conglomerate of
importers in the US. YourImporter.com will post purchase
requirements of its member importers exclusively on Indiamart's
co-branded online platform, thereby generating huge business
potential for Indian suppliers, who will thus be able to
participate in the reverse bidding process.
The platform will also offer buyer verification and sampling
services online to participating members through a tie-up with
global verification giant SGS (Société Générale
de Surveillance, Geneva) to help build trust in online
trade. Indiamart is already talking to ICICI and Citibank for
provision of online payment gateway services for B2B
transactions through the portal.
A conservative estimate by the company reveals B2B transactions
worth Rs 1,200 crores through the portal in the current year,
resulting from estimated 3000 online auction deals. In addition,
Indiamart is confident of achieving atleast 2,500 online
catalogues of member businesses on the portal by the end of the
year, making Indiamart.com the largest Indian B2B portal, not
far behind those largest in the world.
"The mission of the company remains to create maximum
value for B2B clients for their business promotion, process
support and transaction accomplishment needs through innovative
use of web-based technologies and strategic service
partnerships," emphasises Mr Agarwal.
Reference URLs:
http://www.indiamart.com
http://www.intermesh.net
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