ImpactAlpha, February 10 — Pune-based ElasticRun manages an ecommerce platform that helps hundreds of thousands of rural neighborhood stores, known as ‘kirana,’ make inventory purchases and gain access to working capital to run their businesses.
The company collects data on the neighborhood stores for global brands, including Amazon, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The round brings ElasticRun’s total raised to more than $430 million — and its valuation to $1.5 billion.
SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 led the Series E investment round, joined by participating investors Goldman Sachs and Prosus Ventures.
Enterprise tech
Small business digitalization deals in emerging markets are getting bigger. Last month, the Philippines’ GrowSari scored $45 million from KKR, Colombia’s Tul raised $181 million, and India’s Dunzo secured $240 million.
From last year: Nigeria’s TradeDepot raised $110 million; Brazil’s Nuvemshop raised $500 million.
