The Shriram Group today launched its new initiative – Shriram Vyapar, ‘a neighbourhood agents business model’, as described by Sudhakar Raja, CEO.
Shriram Vyapar is an IT-enabled brick and mortar business model, which will facilitate the meeting of the buyer and the seller, of almost any product from real estate to insurance policies.
Elaborating on the model, he said the company will appoint agents with whom one can register their proposal to sell or buy any product.
This, after due verifications, will be posted on an intra-networked site, which will reach all other agents in the company’s fold. As of now, “the investment in the venture is very small, and we are prepared to invest more as and when required”, he said.
To start with, the company will expand its reach in the South, and then, in the next two years, it will go pan-India.
“Overall, we propose to appoint one lakh agents across the country,” he said. Besides, it also plans to bring in value addition with a ‘verified by Shriram’ model, where the company will verify every detail about the product sold through Shriram Vyapar.
In the next 3-6 months, “we may take in a venture fund for at least Rs 20 crore”, said Raja.