ShopUp, the Dhaka-based full-stack B2B commerce startup digitizing neighborhood shops with an ecosystem of solutions from marketplace to logistics to capital, has closed a $34-million Series B extension round led by Tiger Global Management. The extension takes ShopUp’s total series B investment to $109 million. ShopUp raised its $75 million series B funding round led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures and Prosus Ventures just four months ago.
First reported by DealStreetAsia, citing filings with Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority and ShopUp Chief Financial Officer Vashistha Maheshwari, Tiger Global led the extension round with a cheque of $10 million with participation from Valar Ventures, VEON Ventures, Omidyar, Prosus Ventures, Flourish Ventures, and Lonsdale Capital.
According to the report, Maheshwari said that the round included a primary capital infusion of $19.69 million into ShopUp. The remaining amount was on account of the sale of shares by some undisclosed existing shareholders.
ShopUp’s Series B round had marked the entry of Valar Ventures and Prosus Ventures into Bangladesh and now Tiger Global Management. Previously, ShopUp raised its $22.5 million Series A in October 2020.
ShopUp has gone through a series of evolutions over the years. In 2020, Shopup acquired Indian fashion e-commerce startup Voonik.
There are 4.5 Million neighborhood mom-and-pop shops in Bangladesh, known locally as Mudi Dokaans, that account for 98% of the country's retail sector. This makes Bangladesh one of the most fragmented retail markets in Asia. These businesses face many challenges including unavailability of products, compounded by other challenges such as the lack of transparent pricing and inefficient delivery systems, etc.
Founded in 2017 by Afeef Zaman, Ataur Rahim Chowdhury, and Siffat Sarwar, ShopUp says it has built a full-stack business-to-business commerce platform to address these challenges. The company offers a number of core services to these small businesses including B2B sourcing through a wholesale marketplace, logistics, and working capital through partnerships with banks and other partners and business management solutions.
Update on November 7, 2022: The article has been updated with new information.
