B2B networking App Anar secures USD 6.2 mn in seed funding

Anar, a B2B business networking platform, on Wednesday said it has raised USD 6.2 million (about Rs 45.6 crore) in a funding round co-led by Elevation Capital and Accel India. This seed round also saw participation from First Cheque and Utsav Somani (iSeed and Partner, AngelList India), Ranjeet Pratap Singh (Pratilipi co-founder and CEO), Farid Ahsan (ShareChat co-founder), Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal (Meesho co-founders) and Shashvat Nakrani (BharatPe co-founder), a statement said.

The company will use the funds raised to strengthen the product and the technology capabilities, it added. Launched in February 2020, by Nishank Jain and Sanjay Bhat, the Anar business app caters primarily to small and medium businesses (SMBs) across the value chain – from manufacturers to retailers and resellers – helping them connect and interact with one another. The platform has gained over two lakh registered businesses on the platform.

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“For all these years, SMB owners are used to getting business through their relationships and networks. With Anar, we want to enable owners to focus on something they are good at, i.e., building their network to grow their business… These funds will help us deliver a world-class product for SMBs,” Anar co-founder and CEO Nishank Jain said. Sanjay Bhat, co-founder and CTO of Anar, said the company wants to hire the best engineers and product leaders who will embrace Anar’s user-first product mindset as it solves the most pressing problems for SMBs.

“We are in the early stages and have a strong product roadmap and need candidates who can think on first principles to deliver against our strategy. Our long-term objective is to make the best engineering and product team in the world,” he added. On the Anar business app, retailers, resellers, wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers can create their own profiles, upload their catalogues, create posts, form connections, post requirements and interact with one another. Currently, Anar focuses on onboarding businesses across multiple verticals, especially jewellery, clothing, grocery stores, footwear, leather products, and similar verticals.