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FastBeetle Logistics Pvt Ltd, a Srinagar-based tech start-up focused on last-mile logistics in Jammu & Kashmiri, has closed a Pre-Series A funding round of $100,000 from angel investors.
New investors include Sandeep Patel from Nepra, Saurabh Mittal - Entrepreneurship Evangelist in the Himalayan region, Vikram Sanghvi, Rohit Qamra and a few non-resident Kashmiris. Existing investors Kartikeya Desai and Anuj Sharma also participated in the current round.
FastBeetle Logistics offers inbound and outbound full-stack logistics services across 50,000 pin codes in J&K and works with over 800 micro-entrepreneurs and SMEs, of which 60 per cent are run by women, helping drive entrepreneurship in the region and providing critical services in areas not serviced by larger companies.
Tie-ups with Amazon, Flipkart
It recently announced strategic tie-ups with Amazon and Flipkart to enable last mile logistics in several pin codes in Kashmir and will use the funding to strengthen the team and expand business operations to all districts including Jammu, as well as to the adjacent union territory of Ladakh.
The company has grown steadily after its selection last year at a special incubation program held in Srinagar by ALSiSAR Impact, a double bottomline impact incubator and transaction advisory firm, that has a special focus on frontier markets and the Himalayan region.
“FastBeetle is a great example of the type of social enterprise that is much needed to spread the benefits of growth to underserved regions,” said Anuj Sharma, Founder and CEO of ALSiSAR Impact, which supported the founders from an early stage.
During the lockdown, FastBeetle was credited with helping keep crucial business lifelines open and has seen rapid growth over the last year through the pandemic, becoming akin to an essential service for more than 80,000 Kashmiri customers.
Despite the growth in venture capital and impact investing in India over the last few years, non-metro regions and frontier markets especially in the Himalayan region seldom receive early-stage investment and support. This is one of the first such investments in the region that has potential for both social and economic impact. It also gives a signal to other entrepreneurs in the valley that it is possible to raise funds to build a scalable enterprise, the company said.
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