National Trends Win Big With B2B Investors

The roundup of this week’s venture capital investments in B2B startups offers some insight into the geographical differences in how this space is developing. India led the competition with the most funding rounds, as investors supported the nation’s efforts to develop the digitization and sophistication of more traditional business operations: eProcurement, eInvoicing, logistics and supply chain management.

Meanwhile, Australia and Ireland revealed their continuing support of the alternative SME lending space, even as the U.S. market struggles with investor doubt and regulatory scrutiny. But the U.S. did land on the board this week, thanks to one industry that has garnered particular attention in the nation. Find out what that sector is in our roundup below.

eProcurement

ProcMart

An online platform for the procurement of office supplies in India secured new funding from one of its peers. The nation’s ProcMart said on Tuesday (June 21) that it raised pre-Series A funding from another B2B eProcurement portal, IndiaMART, though the firms did not disclose how much money was involved.

While ProcMart and IndiaMART may be positioned for competition, ProcMart said it differentiates itself from the competition by enabling price quoting capabilities for suppliers, rather than fixed prices often provided by sellers.

“Quotation-focused approach provides ProcMart with a potential to cater full stack of buyers, i.e., buyers ranging from SMEs to big corporates to MNCs,” said the company’s cofounder in a statement. With new funding, ProcMart said it will continue to collaborate with FinTech and logistics companies as it looks to add financing and other services for its business customers.

Alt-Lending

Capitalflow

Ireland’s alternative SME lending space just got a bit stronger, thanks to an $11 million investment into the nation’s Capitalflow by Pollen Street Capital. Capitalflow enables SMEs in Ireland to access an array of financing options, including invoice finance, asset-based lending and other products, reports said on Tuesday. The company officially launched last year and includes executives formerly at Close Brothers and Bibby Financial Services.

Waddle

Also on Tuesday, reports emerged that Australian alternative lending platform Waddle secured nearly $23 million in debt financing to fund its small business loans, which will be used over the next 12 months, according to reports. The funding is the first external debt raising for the company since its launch in 2014, reports added.

Waddle said that it will use the money to grow its loan book volume as a response to increased demand. The funds will also help the firm be able to develop with new and existing partners, as it looks to increase automation and mobile support in Australia.

Supply Chain Management

Schedulers Logistics

India landed on this week’s B2B venture capital board again on Tuesday, thanks to Schedulers Logistics. A $6 million funding round was led by GVFL, which will be used to help the company propel its growth in the nation, reports said.

Schedulers Logistics provides vehicles and temperature-controlled warehouses across India. With the new money, the company said it will look to more than double its fleet of vehicles over the next two years and expand its storage facility capacity by 2020.

LEAP India

But the venture capital funding for India’s B2B startups didn’t stop there. LEAP India secured $3 million in funding led by venture capital firm Mayfield, reports said on Thursday (June 23). The company provides supply chain management and logistics services, including providing returnable packaging and equipment, like containers and wooden pallets. It may not be the most exciting startup, but as a company that caters to all industries, investors are on board. According to reports, LEAP India is in plans to raise $40 million more, an unnamed source said.

eInvoicing

Gladiris Technologies

The developer of eInvoicing firm SpiderG just raised funding for its enterprise solutions, but it won’t say how much. Gladiris Technologies announced on Wednesday (June 22) that it raised seed funding from an array of investors, including Kirloskar Pneumatic, Fusion Tech Ventures and other backers.

The India-based company operates SpiderG, which enables electronic transacting and communication between buyers and suppliers. Investor Adi Sarvanan, president of Allsec Technologies, pointed to the accomplishments of the eInvoicing tool as a key motivator behind his support.

Cybersecurity

SecurityScorecard

While other parts of the world may be supporting their B2B startups in more traditional spaces, the one U.S. company that landed on the board this week targets a younger B2B space: enterprise cybersecurity.

SecurityScorecard announced on Thursday that it raised $20 million, thanks to Google’s VC fund, GV, along with other backers at Two Sigma Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Evolution Equity Partners and Boldstart Ventures. The company provides cybersecurity solutions for companies operating in the cloud and provides vendor risk mitigation, via continual surveying and analyzing of corporate systems.