Startup news and updates: daily roundup (November 2, 2023)

Funding news

Spice-tech startup Growcoms raises $3.5 million

Spice tech company Growcoms raised $3.5 million from JSW Ventures, Arali Ventures, and existing investor InfoEdge Ventures. It will use the funds primarily for bolstering its product portfolio and technology stack to build key capabilities in enabling traceability for exports and value-added spices, the Kochi-based company said.

This marks JSW Ventures and Arali Ventures' first investment in the agritech sector.

India is the world's largest producer of spices and accounts for almost a third of all global trade. India holds a 70% share in global spice production, with the industry pegged to grow at a 10% CAGR. It is expected to grow to $27 billion by 2027, according to the statement.

Growcoms currently caters to a variety of customers spanning food companies, flavour houses, FMCG companies, and seasoning brands, it added.

Housing.com to invest in fintech startup Easiloan  

Digital real estate platform Housing.com made an undisclosed investment in the lending app Easiloan to create a digital home loan origination platform.

Started in 2021 by Pramod Kathuria, Easiloan is a digital home loan marketplace, which allows users to compare and select home loans offered via its partnership with over 20 banks. The Tomorrow Capital-backed lending platform will use the funds to capitalise on the network of brokers and developers with housing.com and offer its mortgage products. 

Melbourne-based REA Group, owner of Housing.com, PropTiger.com, and Makaan.com, reported a 46% rise in its revenue from India in the financial year ended June 2023, while its Australian business saw a mere 1% uptick. India’s share in the group’s overall revenue has expanded to 6.7% in FY23 from 4.8% in FY22. 

Group CEO Dhruv Agarwala said mortgages are an organic expansion within the digital real estate sphere, driven by the large customer base that the company has cultivated on its platform.

FroGo raises $1.15M in seed round led by Inflection Point

Frozen foods ecommerce platform FroGo raised $1.15 million in a seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures. Ritesh Agarwal (Founder, Oyo), Ankit Nagori (Founder, Curefoods), Desai Ventures, FAAD Network, and others also participated. 

It will use the fresh capital to expand to 50 dark stores across four cities and build technology for integrated temperature monitoring.

FroGo is an end-to-end “zero-temperature loss” distribution and retail frozen foods platform. It claims to have 15+ dark stores clocking over 7000+ orders per month. 

Aham Housing Finance secures Rs 30 Cr

Chennai-based Aham Housing Finance, an affordable housing finance firm, has raised Rs 30 crore in funding from investors, including Negen Capital.

With 20 branches, the company intends to utilise the new capital to strengthen its field network and automate its operations across the organisation.

Specialising in the informal market segment, Aham Housing Finance typically provides loans ranging between Rs 10 and 15 lakh for self-constructed homes, serving families with three to four members in metro city outskirts and Tier II and III cities.

The housing finance company differentiates itself by relying on its proprietary underwriting tools to onboard customers who have a limited credit history but display predictable behaviour. 

Other news

Eximius Ventures appoints Preeti Sampat as co-founder and general partner

Eximius Ventures, a pre-seed stage startup fund, has roped in Preeti Sampat as co-founder and general partner. At Eximius, Sampat will lead the fund's investment strategy and decisions, taking a thesis-driven approach to investing in startups that have the potential to scale globally.

“Preeti possesses a profound grasp of the global venture and startup ecosystem, which will enable us to broaden our fund's reach across geographical boundaries and extend our investment focus into AI/Gen AI, SaaS, health, and commerce. We eagerly anticipate collaborating with her to further strengthen Eximius, positioning it as a prominent pre-seed stage fund in India," said Pearl Agarwal, Founder and Managing Director of Eximius Ventures.

The BITS Pilani and MIT Sloan alumni, Sampat had previously co-founded a micro VC fund, which invested in the pre-seed and early-seed rounds of startups in the US and LATAM. Half of the portfolio companies have achieved an annual revenue of more than $5 million. 

“I have been impressed by the quality of the portfolio companies that Eximius has backed so far, which include startups such as Jar, eka.care, Stan, Skydo, and Vegapay. I believe that there is a huge opportunity for early-stage investing in India, especially in frontier tech sectors that can create impactful solutions for India and the world,” said Sampat. 

(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)