PriyoShop raises $5m in funding

PriyoShop, a business-to-business (B2B) retail marketplace for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), yesterday announced the completion of a $5 million pre-Series A round of funding.

The round was led by Century Oak Ventures, with participation from Evolution Ventures, Iterative, SOSV (Orbit Startups), GFR Fund, BonBillo, Accelerating Asia, South Asia Tech Partners and Voltity.

The participating investors came from San Francisco, Dubai, Indonesia, Thailand, Africa and India, with many choosing to invest in Bangladesh for the first time, marking a significant milestone for the country's startup ecosystem, PriyoShop said in a statement.

With this round of financing, the company will roll out transformative retail supply chain solutions designed to benefit businesses across various sectors.

Launched in July 2021, PriyoShop is working with small retail shops and major brands to transform and modernise Bangladesh's retail supply chain.

Through the company's marketplace model, PriyoShop helps small businesses efficiently source goods, gain access to consistent and competitive prices and rapidly receive goods through next-day delivery.

Through the company's partnership with digital financing platform LankaBangla Financing, PriyoShop is further able to help MSMEs scale up their businesses through tailored credit facilities and access to supply chain financing options.

Partner brands and suppliers can utilise PriyoShop distribution services to handle a diverse range of products, including consumer goods, electronics, fashion items and more.

PriyoShop has partnered with more than 200 major brands, including Pusti, Rupchanda, Teer, New Zealand Dairy, Pepsico and Coca-Cola.

The PriyoShop team is led by its co-founders Asikul Alam Khan, the chief executive officer, and Dipty Mandal, the chief marketing officer.

"This funding marks a pivotal moment for PriyoShop and validates our commitment to empowering MSMEs in Bangladesh," Khan said.

"The capital will be strategically deployed to enhance our technology infrastructure, expand our reach and introduce innovative solutions, including our financing services, helping us better serve MSMEs and our retail partners," he added.

Khan also informed they have roughly 55,000 merchants on their platform and expect to positively impact over one million merchants in the coming year.

Pre-Series A funding refers to the stage of financing that occurs after the initial seed round but before the Series A round.