Indian shipping management startup nets $2.2m in pre-series A round

Swift, an India-based digital shipping management firm, has raised US$2.2 million in a pre-series A funding round led by Kalaari Capital.

Existing investors First Cheque, Indian Angel Network, and other angel investors also participated in the round.

(From left) Swift co-founders Debanshu Sinha, Prayas Mittal, Shyam Kalita / Photo credit: Swift

Founded in 2019, Swift’s digital platform aims to provide a simplified interface for shipping products. The firm caters to companies in the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customers (B2C) spaces. The platform also offers integration with ecommerce channels as well as payments and settlement features.

Swift is zeroing in on grabbing a foothold in India’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) segment, which is estimated to be worth US$100 billion by 2025.

“The internet commerce infrastructure in India has been built to serve large marketplaces making it impossible for smaller brands to compete with them. This is clearly visible in the small proportion of online orders placed via D2C storefronts vis-a-vis marketplaces,” Swift co-founder Shyam Kalita said in a statement.

The company plans to use the fresh capital to scale up its engineering efforts and simplify business workflows across categories, including checkout, fulfillment, and payments.