The funding round also saw participation from prominent entrepreneurs such as Sagar Daryani (Co-founder – Wow! Momo), amongst others
Venture Catalysts, India’s first and largest integrated incubator and accelerator, has recently co-invested in Rare Planet’s Pre Series A Round , an innovative handmade lifestyle retail start-up. Led by Kolkata-based Uni-M Ventures, the round saw the start-up raise an Undisclosed amount from several leading angel investors. Existing investors such as Sagar Daryani (Co-founder – Wow! Momo) also participated in the round, once again demonstrating their faith in the venture’s vision and mission.
Established in 2015 by Ranodeep Saha and Vijay Kumar, Rare Planet aims to promote indigenous Indian handicrafts by empowering local artisans and providing them with sustainable employment opportunities. It has helped more than 2,000 artisan families from rural areas to register an average increase of 120% in their income and aims to do the same for millions of artisans across the country.
Speaking on the investment, Ranodeep Saha, CEO & Co-Founder – Rare Planet, said, “The pandemic has had a major impact on the economy as well as the investment landscape. To secure an investment from top investors such as Venture Catalysts, Uni-M Ventures, and Sagar Daryani, in such a scenario, validates the strength of our business proposition. We remain committed to creating greater value for rural artisans and taking indigenous Indian handicraft items to a much larger audience across the globe keeping the Profits growing quarter on quarter ”
Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Co-founder & President – Venture Catalysts, said, “The team at Rare Planet is building a unique social enterprise that drives innovation and entrepreneurship while creating equitable socio-economic value. We are fully behind the founding team’s vision to promote indigenous handicrafts and are confident that it can put the Indian arts and handicraft ecosystem firmly on the international map.”
Rare Planet is present in more than 100 locations across India and has retailed more than 5 lakh units worth INR 20crore to date. With the latest investment, it aims to take handmade Indian handicrafts, jewellery, and decor products made from terracotta, copper, ceramic, brass, wood, and marble, etc. to a global stage and disrupt the $8 billion handicrafts market.
Venture Catalysts is India’s first integrated incubator. It invests $250K – $1.5 Million in early stage startups that have potential to create enduring value for over a long period of time. Venture Catalysts brings a lethal combination of Capital, Mentoring and Business Network to help investee companies to succeed. Their innovation provides value to startups through its extensive angel network, funding, community, services and co-working facility.
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