Indian social commerce firm Citymall banks $3m in Elevation Capital-led round

Indian social ecommerce startup Citymall said it raised US$3 million in a seed round led by Elevation Capital, previously known as SAIF Partners.

The round also saw participation from Waterbridge Ventures, Arun Tadanki’s private syndicate on angel investing platform LetsVenture, according to a statement.

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Citymall operates a community commerce platform for selling lifestyle products and everyday goods. The company said its vision is to create India’s largest chain of virtual stores on WhatsApp through peer-to-peer referrals.

The startup was founded last year by Angad Kikla and Naisheel Verdhan. Prior to Citymall, Kikla co-founded B2B ecommerce startup Hawkr. Meanwhile, Verdhan co-founded software services firm Codalyze and had also worked at the Broadcast Audience Research Council of India as a computational materials scientist.

“With this funding, we are looking to deepen supply chains in tier two, three, and four cities and introduce categories such as fresh [foods], grocery, and FMCG,” said Kikla. “We are also confident of expanding our network further in tier two, three, and four cities in states such as Haryana.”

As part of these plans, the company said it aims to build a robust network of community leaders on its platform and expand its supply chain tailored to smaller cities.

In the past six months, Citymall claims it has achieved a 12x growth in revenue and has established a presence in smaller markets such as Rewari, Dharuhera, Pataudi, Sonipat, and Bahadurgarh, among others.

In India, Citymall competes with companies such as Meesho, Shop101, and Wooplr. Another player in the space is GlowRoad, which recently raised US$7 million in fresh funding from its existing investors Accel, Vertex Ventures, and IND Fund.