B2B Platform Solv Raises $40 Mn In Series A Funding Led By SBI Holdings Solv will use the funds to launch additional high-margin product categories and expand to over300 cities in India

Solv, a B2B digital marketplace for MSMEs, has raised $40 million in its latest round of funding led by marquee investor SBI Holdings (headquartered in Japan), with participation from SC Ventures, which has been an incubator and earlystage investor of Solv.

This round of fund-raise takes Solv's total funding to nearly $80 million, said a statement.

"We are excited to lead Solv's Series A fund raise, one of our largest investments in the region. We are confident that Solv will become a global technology powerhouse and play a defining role in turbo-charging the growth of underserved MSMEs. Their purpose deeply aligns with our philosophy of becoming the leader in creating and cultivating the core industries of the 21st century. Our investment in Solv is a reinforcement of our commitment to developing economies, especially India," said Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO, SBI Holdings.

"At Solv, we are passionate about improving livelihoods of millions of underserved MSMEs in India and globally. In a year ravaged by Covid-19, Solv has been able to establish itself as a dependable partner to over 220,000 MSMEs. The learnings in India, and the resultant development in product, technology and platform is also enabling us to create workable models for MSMEs in other geographies across the world. At this critical juncture of Solv's journey, we are humbled to welcome on board SBI Holdings as a long-term partner. This strategic partnership and investment will give us significant tailwinds and help us become a dominant B2B player over the next 12-18 months," said Amit Bansal, CEO, Solv.

Solv enables MSMEs to trade in categories such as grocery and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), readymade apparels, electronic and accessories, home furnishings and footwear and accessories, of which Softlines are the highest margin and fastest growing segments. Solv is currently present in more than 200 cities in India, servicing over 19,000 pin codes. The company claims its growth has been driven by constant innovation on its platform and roll-out of new tech-led features and products for its MSMEs users.