m.Paani raises $5.5million in Series A led by AC Ventures, Gojek co-­founders, Henkel, Candy Ventures, and others

m.Paani, India’s leading local retailer digitisation platform, has raised USD $5.5m or INR 39 crores, in a Series A investment round led by AC Ventures, Henkel, Candy Ventures, in addition to noteworthy angel investors Kevin Aluwi, CEO and Co-Founder of Gojek, Ryu Suliawan, Head of Merchants at Gojek, and Suvir Varma, Board Member and Senior Advisor at Bain & Company, Private Equity. Existing investors Chiratae Ventures and Blume Ventures also participated in the round.

A Google Launchpad and Google Studio company, m.Paani is digitizing and organizing local retailers to deliver the neighbourhood shopping experience of the future. It will use the funds to invest in product development, accelerated growth and expansion, and key hires.

Akanksha Hazari-Ericson, CEO and Founder of m.Paani, says, “We have always believed in the local retailer. They win on every consumer consideration: service, quality, product selection, value, credit and delivery speed. Small businesses also account for more than 40% of employment. They are a bedrock of communities and the economy. m.Paani is bridging the technology gap to ensure that our local retailers not just survive but thrive in India 2.0. The future of Indian retail is, and must be, local.” A successful second time entrepreneur, Akanksha is a Princeton University and Cambridge University alumnus.