ShopUp Raises $30M to Streamline B2B Commerce in Bangladesh

ShopUp has raised $30 million to expand its B2B commerce platform in Bangladesh.

The firm will use the new debt financing to build supply chain infrastructure and expand the financial services it offers to small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), ShopUp said in a Thursday (Feb. 2) press release.

“The new debt facilities will help us reach our goal of creating a seamless distribution network for food and essentials that serves 80 million people in Bangladesh,” ShopUp CEO and founder Afeef Zaman said in the release. “Our recent success in securing financing is a reflection of our financial stability and our efforts towards having a positive impact in Bangladesh.”

This news comes about nine months after Bangladesh eCommerce company Jarafa launched an eCommerce platform that helps people communicate and buy and sell products from anywhere in the country.

Along with the platform, Jarafa said in April that it also planned to offer loans, management systems and other support to businesses.

“Jarafa’s main goal is to connect wholesalers and resellers with the help of its website and app, so all they have to do is click to make money,” the firm said at the time.

ShopUp’s platform called Mokam is designed to serve the small shops that distribute 98% of the food and household items consumed in Bangladesh. There are 4.5 million such shops that are scattered across the country and are dealing with difficulty accessing products, reliable delivery and affordable financing, according to the press release.

Together with Mokam, ShopUp offers a last-mile logistics network called REDX and partners with manufacturers, brands and mills to streamline distribution and reduce food waste, the release said.

The company’s $30 million financing round included $20 million from Lendable, which thereby made its first investment in South Asia, per the release.

“We have been impressed by the scale of business and quality of team that ShopUp has built to date and are happy to be supporting the impactful work ShopUp has been doing in providing access to goods and capital to underserved [microbusinesses and SMBs] in Bangladesh,” Lendable Chief Investment Officer Hani Ibrahim said in the release.

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