Kaarigar Mandi, a B2B footwear platform, has secured seed funding of Rs 1.75 crore from Kyt Ventures. Upaya Social Ventures, IIMA Ventures, and IIM Calcutta Innovation Park have also participated in the funding.
With the infusion of 1.75 crore in fresh capital, Kaarigar Mandi plans to grow by ten times in the next two years. The funds will be channeled towards business development and the development of a robust AI-driven technology infrastructure. By harnessing advanced AI capabilities, the startup aims to revolutionize the footwear supply chain by offering tailored solutions to meet the evolving needs of bulk footwear buyers and fashion brands.
Ankit Kumar, Co-Founder of Kaarigar Mandi, emphasizes the company’s vision to provide end to end footwear sourcing solutions to the global and domestic footwear brands who are dealing with inefficient traditional supply chain within the industry, by connecting them with a network of 40,000 standardized micro &small-scale footwear manufacturers, employing 20,00,000 footwear artisans across India. “Our platform is designed to bridge the gap between traditional artisans and modern bulk buyers,” says Kumar. “With this funding, we aim to further strengthen our infrastructure and expand our reach, creating a thriving ecosystem for footwear businesses and fostering economic resilience.”
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Kaarigar Mandi streamlines the procedure, increasing transparency throughout the supply chain, cutting costs, and boosting efficiency.
Kyt Co-Founder, Gagan Gupta says, “The market opportunity in the footwear space is INR 1415 billion and is growing at 17% CAGR. This sector remains largely unorganized with significant entry barriers. Recently, the Indian government introduced mandatory BIS licensing for Indian footwear, creating barriers for importing footwear and an opportune environment for innovation, standardization, and growth. Kaarigar Mandi, is the only startup in this space, can be the ‘Fashinza’ for footwear brands and cater to not only domestic footwear brands but also international ones.”
Kaarigar Mandi offers comprehensive assistance to small footwear manufacturers and artisans to develop their cottage and micro-enterprises and keep artisans up-to-date with the latest technology by providing training in current footwear trends and techniques and connecting them to the internet.
Kyt Ventures Co-Founder, Dr Anu Gupta says: “The founders of Kaarigar Mandi with their complementary skills, hands-on experience and resilience, are well placed to quickly scale up for building a large enterprise. Furthermore, being located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh provides Kaarigar Mandi with a notable advantage in rapidly expanding its manufacturing capacity to meet the growing demand. Unlike other B2B companies, KaarigarMandi enjoys higher margins as it operates in a niche space of high-end footwear, making it an attractive investment opportunity”.
About Kaarigar Mandi
Founded by Ankit Kumar, Gagan Mukhi, and Hifza Afaq, Kaarigar Mandi – an IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta-supported startup, Streamlining Footwear Sourcing from Design to Delivery!
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By satisfying the various needs of the footwear industry, facilitating the trade of finished footwear, raw materials, necessary machinery & tools, and providing finance solutions along the footwear supply chain, Kaarigar Mandi acts as an all-encompassing solution.
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