Aavishkaar invests Rs 32 cr in Connect India

Early stage investor Aavishkaar today said it has committed to invest of Rs 32 crore in Connect India, which is into building last mile network of distribution points for e-commerce across the country.
With this funding, Connect India would launch its commercial operations in 17 States, 150 towns and cities with 1,500 Connect India centres in rural and urban markets, Aavishkaar said in a statement.
Connect India has carried successful trials of e-commerce deliveries in regions of rural India that are yet un-serviced by online commerce initiatives, it said.
While it will give distribution access to e-commerce industry in rural India, it will also create convenience to the e-commerce customers in urban India by being hyperlocal.

"We believe that the Connect India model of developing village level entrepreneurs to bring efficient logistics and reverse logistics to taluka and sub-taluka-level communities which could create substantial development and livelihood impacts in rural India," said Aavishkaar founder Vineet Rai.
"At the same time, the strategy of leveraging existing, underutilized networks of community service centres provides the opportunity for rapid expansion with low capital investments, leading to rapid value creation for the company," he added.
Aavishkaar founded in 2001, has invested across the under developed regions of India and South and South-East Asia, with a focus to catalyse development in unserved regions.

The company's 10-year goal is to invest in 300 start-up companies across emerging economies and raise USD 1 billion, it said in a statement.