New Delhi, India, March 22, 2016
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has invested $19.3 million in the Bengaluru-based Supermarket Grocery Supplies Private Limited (SGSPL). The investment will enable the company to expand its supply chain network in India and create new jobs.
SGSPL is a wholesale distributor of groceries, fruits, and vegetables and is the intellectual property licensor and a key supplier to bigbasket.com. IFC’s investment will strengthen the company’s food and grocery supply chains and benefit farmers and small and medium enterprises within its network. It will also allow end-consumers to access better quality products that meet higher food safety standards. The company’s workforce is expected to grow from its current strength of 2900 to over 7500 by 2020.
“IFC’s investment will help strengthen our wholesale distribution network and logistics infrastructure and enable us to reduce food wastage while ensuring better quality across the entire supply chain,” said V.S. Sudhakar, CEO and Co-Founder, SGSPL. By 2017, the company plans to develop direct relationships with over 3000 farmers to ensure fair prices.
The urban grocery market in India is growing due to rapid urbanization. Developing efficient supply chain systems can minimize spoiling of farm produce, avoid wastage, and preserve food quality.
“Our investment fits well with IFC’s strategy of focusing on efficient supply chains. We believe that the investment can effectively bridge the gap between manufacturers of food and grocery products and the demands of end-consumers in an efficient way,” said Pravan Malhotra, Global Co-lead for Internet Investments at IFC.
India is IFC's top country exposure. IFC's committed portfolio in India is over $5 billion as of June 30, 2015. In FY15, IFC committed $1.4 billion in new investments. In addition to strengthening local capital markets in India, IFC is focused on boosting financing in infrastructure and logistics, promoting financial inclusion, helping create conditions to attract increased private capital, and helping structure public-private partnerships.
About IFC
IFC is part of the World Bank Group and the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our capital and expertise to create opportunity where it's needed most. In FY15, our long-term investments rose to a nearly $18 billion, helping the private sector play an essential role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity.
IFC’s Venture Capital (VC) team invests in high growth companies that help spur the digital economy, including in e-commerce and online marketplaces. IFC invests in local businesses based in emerging markets, as well as increasingly in US/European companies with technologies and services geared towards emerging markets. To date, IFC has invested almost $1 billion in venture/growth companies globally. For more information see
www.ifc.org
/vc.
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