E-commerce Platform Meolaa Secured Pre-Seed Funding

Meolaa, a next-gen e-commerce platform focused on innovation, inclusivity, and sustainability, has claimed to have secured a seed funding round led by Dr. Ranjan Pai of Manipal Education & Medical Group. Over the years, Dr. Pai has been a prominent investor in the Indian startup ecosystem and has previously invested in successful ventures like Byju’s, InCred, and Kites Senior Care amongst others. 

Funding Details Of Meolaa

Meolaa, which launched in 2022, had previously secured an initial funding of $165K during its pre-seed round, led by investors such as Dale Vaz (CTO of Swiggy), Nikhil Vora (Founder and CEO, Sixth Sense Ventures), Sachin Bhartiya (Founder, Lighthouse Funds), and StrongHer Ventures, among others. 

Dr. Ranjan Pai, CEO & MD of Manipal Education and Medical Group, commented "We are thrilled to announce our investment in Meolaa. Meolaa’s innovative approach to connecting new-age, conscious buyers and sellers has the potential to transform the e-commerce landscape. This investment reflects our confidence in the team's vision and ability to execute, and we look forward to supporting them as they continue to drive growth and innovation in this new space."

Commenting on the investment Ishita Sawant, Founder & CEO, Meolaa says “We are excited to have Dr. Ranjan Pai of Manipal Education and Medical Group lead our seed funding round. His extensive experience in investing in and advising successful startups will be a tremendous asset to us as we look to scale our business and build a strong leadership team. Meolaa is committed to providing consumers with an innovative, personalized, and sustainable shopping experience, and we believe that Dr. Pai’s support will help us achieve our goals”.

The funding from Dr. Ranjan Pai comes at a time when Meolaa is seeking to expand its operations and reach new customers. Meolaa plans to use the funding to hire key leadership team members across primary functions, including category, marketing, logistics & customer support, and product & engineering. In the next quarter, Meolaa expects its headcount to grow to 35 members, reflecting its commitment to creating jobs and investing in talent in India.

Dale Vaz, Chief Technology Officer at Swiggy said “I am super proud of the rapid progress that Ishita Sawant and Team Meolaa have made in less than a year. From their launch in Sep 2022, the team has executed hard-to-scale Meolaa.com to 50,000 SKUs across 1270 brands, with more than 3 lakh registered users placing orders from 90+ cities across India. 

Enabling this experience is Meolaa's purpose-built, D2C technology platform that helps brands and sellers manage their business and interact with customers in a self-service and efficient manner. This platform has helped the team rapidly scale the business with a lean team. Congratulations to the team for the customer love they have received! And here's to more success in the journey ahead."

The e-commerce industry in India is growing at a rapid rate of 25-30% CAGR, fueled by factors like increasing internet penetration, smartphone usage, digital payment infrastructure, favorable government policies, and changing consumer preferences. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated this growth as online shopping became a popular option during lockdowns. Gen Z consumers in India, comprising around 73% of the population, are willing to pay up to 10% more for sustainable products. Therefore, e-commerce brands targeting Gen Z customers need to be purpose-driven and align with sustainability initiatives to tap into this market. Incorporating sustainable practices and showcasing social responsibility can be crucial for success in the Indian e-commerce industry, particularly when catering to environmentally-conscious Gen Z customers.

Meolaa recognizes this shift in consumer preference and is strategically positioned to meet the demand by utilizing technology to offer a seamless, personalized & purpose-driven shopping experience to consumers. For brands- Meolaa aims to be the first listing platform, solving for the challenges brands face in their scaling journey.