Helfinch India raised $200K pre-seed round funding in India for its D2R operations in India

October 29, 2022 – Helfinch, the world’s 1st D2R (Direct to Retailer) online e-commerce brand that focuses on electrical and appliances, has announced a $200K pre-seed round led by Pradip Bansal, founder of Wealthgram, a financial and management consulting from India. This round will enable Helfinch to scale its online operations in India, invest in innovation & research facility, and expand into new markets, and potentially into newer innovative offerings for rural markets in India.

Helfinch, originally a brand from Germany, manufactures high grade electrical products and appliances in India. It offers premium German design and superior quality at competitive prices thanks to their lean fully-tech enabled distribution and fulfillment process. The product offering in India includes LED lighting, Inverter bulbs, Light & motion sensor bulbs, Solar lighting & Solar home kits, and Electrical accessories like Lamp holder, Electrical tapes and Switches.

Helfinch provides retailers and merchants of electrical goods and home appliances the ability to directly and efficiently procure inventory for their stores via their online store at wholesale prices, as well as access to value-added services like online financial tools like working capital credit, BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later), and short term trade loans. Since its launch in India in 2021, Helfinch has worked with over 25,000 retailers, fulfilled over 65,000 orders. Helfinch’s primary product includes Indian rural focussed lighting products such as Inverter bulbs that offer backup of up to 5 hours, solar home kits and premium LED lamps that can withstand a wide range of voltage fluctuations.

The Helfinch Online platform conveniently supports merchants, particularly small merchants who do not have the financial purchasing power to work directly with brands, with the ability to scale their business through better pricing and availability of crucial financial credit assistance at the click of a button.

Pradip Bansal of Wealthgram says “we are excited to work with Helfinch who have potential to reach a valuation of US $100 million in two years’ time. Founders have clarity of digitally enabled business and an excellent execution capability.”

Wilson Chacko, Helfinch Head of Operations says: “We are humbled and excited to bring a drastic transformation in the electrical & appliances distribution business and value chain while empowering small retailers and mom&pop stores across India. We are also thrilled to have strategic investors with extensive experience in retail, distribution, and logistics. The funds raised will allow us to quickly scale our operations and expand to other markets beyond India, we have plans to launch our services in Europe and US before this March 2023.”

The D2C e-commerce space, specially for Appliances, is rapidly expanding as online services have become increasingly important, particularly for merchants and traders to facilitate their business needs because orders are processed digitally, allowing for greater buying efficiency and effectiveness. Due to the rising cost of these products, many retailers are opting for instalment purchases or availing credit for their inventory purchase. India in the last 2 years has emerged as the leader in production of high quality led lighting products at prices better than any other south Asian country.

Helfinch, along with their financial partners, plans to offer financial services and support to their retailers to help them scale their business by offering various credit facilities and flexible payment terms based on their payment history, in addition to helping them manage their financials easily by offering collection and payment services. Helfinch will continue to provide electrical retailers and stores with enhanced and effective services to help them facilitate and grow their businesses, with the goal of positioning India as a leading electrical manufacturing hub.