B2B player Solv crosses Rs 1,200 cr transaction run rate with 100,000 MSMEs

The pureplay marketplace plans to triple transaction volumes on its platform in 12 months, on the back of a robust KYC-verified MSME customer base

Solv, a business-to-business digital marketplace for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), backed by the Standard Chartered Group, announced a Rs 1,200-crore run rate on its platform. This is supported by over 100,000 KYC (know your customer) verified buyer and seller MSMEs. The firm said this is a significant milestone achieved within a year of the platform’s commercial launch.

“Since its launch, Solv has been focused on digitising entire supply chains, starting from manufacturer to the end retailer, ensuring there’s 100 per cent seamless integration and zero disruption,” said Amit Bansal, CEO, Solv.

Solv, a pureplay marketplace, offers a full-stack, technology-led e-commerce platform for MSMEs - millions of micro-operators like kiranas, small buyers and sellers across India - helping them build a strong trade network through a trusted ecosystem. Solv currently operates in the FMCG, consumer electronics, home furnishings, fashion & apparel, and hotels, restaurants and catering (HoReCa) categories in multiple cities pan India. It has a deep-tiered presence in Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad and Chennai markets.

On the back of a robust KYC-verified MSME customer base, Solv plans to grow transaction volume on its platform by 200 per cent in 12 months’ time. It is introducing several new categories like footwear, large and small appliances, beauty and personal care. It would also make entry into 50 new cities with deep-tiered presence in peri-rural areas.

“The strong growth multiple in transactions on the Solv platform and the positive impact that we are able to bring to livelihoods of MSMEs in India is testament to Solv’s continuous effort towards democratizing technology for the 63 million underserved segment in India,” said Bansal. “We will continue to expand our services for MSMEs across categories and are confident of delivering the best trading experience to this segment through Solv’s platform.”

The grocery and consumables segment has specifically been a high-growth category on the Solv platform post-pandemic, with consumers spending more on essential dailies, personal care, hygiene and wellness products. Solv helped keep supply chains running during the Covid-19 lockdowns, by ensuring that goods reach the buyers-–the doorstep of the kirana shop–-on time, through procurement from reliable sellers (MSMEs themselves) and reliable on-ground logistics support. Digitizing their operations has helped micro and small businesses strengthen and streamline their processes such as procurement, shipping and  last-mile delivery, billing, and payment. This helped the business to become compliant to industry standards and increasing their efficiencies, becoming quality conscious and competitive, leading to business growth. Solv’s B2B e-commerce platform is currently delivering over 350 tonnes of goods on an average every day and has seen an average of 70 per cent MSME customers transacting repeatedly on its platform, even at scale.

Lakhs of small businesses that previously had no digital identity are now able to leverage the ‘Solv Score’, an alternative credit score, to establish their credibility with other MSMEs and financial service providers. Solv’s Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) product leverages the Solv Score to help new-to-credit customers avail on-demand invoice financing on its platform with ticket sizes as low as Rs 3,000. The product has had an overwhelming response from micro and small entrepreneurs with 100 per cent average monthly growth in credit lines extended since its launch early this year.

Solv also aims at a 2x growth in its team with a large part of its workforce engaged in tier-2 towns and peri-rural areas with 100 per cent flexible working schedules.

Jiten Arora, Member, SCV, Standard Chartered said with India leapfrogging in financial inclusion, owing to the massive disruption that fintech has brought in, the country is well poised to achieve its aim of becoming a $5 trillion economy. “We believe our investment in India through Solv will help in furthering the dream of a digital India and organizing one of the biggest employment generators and GDP boosters of the country, the MSME segment,” said Arora.