Rural Commerce Startup Hesa Acquires Flinkhub for Enhancing Super App Capabilities

Rural commerce platform Hesa has acquired Flinkhub to enhance their super app and drive product-led Growth. Hesa will bring onboard Flinkhub’s Co-Founders Ashish Rajput, Ananth SNC and Jerrin Joy to accelerate their product adoption among India’s next billion users. Flinkhub is a platform for creators to build social learning experiences.

With this aquisition, the team will focus their efforts on enhancing the Hesa Super App capabilities, from a ‘phygital’ marketplace to a technology led interface where a rural consumer gets access to all their product & service needs in one place.

“With the acquisition of Flinkhub and its team we have made a 2-fold commitment towards our product-led approach to Hesa Super App. The founders, IIT-Kharagpur Alumnus, come with a product & user centric approach that will boost our expertise in this area and will help Hesa widen its key offerings to customers on the grass-root level across India. We are really excited about this new acquisition and the new energy the founding team will be bringing to Hesa." said Vamsi Udayagiri, Co-Founder and CEO, Hesa.

Flinkhub has 2 products - Flinkhub Relationship Intelligence, a tool that accurately maps a user’s network and Papertown, a social networking app for learning. Hesa will use these technologies for product-led acquisition & training of their network of village-level entrepreneurs (VLEs) to solve the challenge of outreach in remote locations.

Hesa has 40,000 VLEs (village level entrepreneurs) or Hesaathis who use the Hesa Super App to fulfil the needs of users in their village network. FinTech, Agri, E-commerce and Digital brands integrate their products on the Super App and get direct access to rural users.

“Technology has drastically changed the way we work, earn, spend and live. We’re truly at an inflection point, with a large consumer base coming online for the first time. We are also working on Consumer Workflows through Telegram, Whatsapp, SMS, Call Bots to make life easier for rural consumers to directly order from Hesa's unique Platform.”, states Ananth SNC, who will head Technology at Hesa.

Hesa’s marketplace drives 150 Cr monthly GMV and is growing rapidly with 20% MOM growth. India’s rural market of 70 Cr users is largely untapped. Several Fintech, Agri, FMCG and digital brands are now focussing on serving this market. Hesa is backed by investors like Venture Catalyst and WeFounderCircle.

”Hesa’s phygital model already drives 18% online commerce in villages, which is higher than many cities. Scaling this across India’s 6.5 lac villages requires unique strategies, quite different from what works for urban.”, states Jerrin Joy, who will drive Growth at Hesa.

Hyderabad-based HESA recently announced plans to provide financial solutions to over 60,000 village-level entrepreneurs across 30,000 villages by the end of 2022. It will provide ease of transitions such as bill payments, opening an account to withdraw money, small needs like mobile recharge, bus ticket booking, opening Demat accounts, among others to rural India.

“Building products for the next billion users requires a highly user-centric approach. They have unique ways of interacting with technology. Hesa’s widespread Hesaathi network and consumer intelligence puts us at the forefront to build for them." states Ashish Rajput, who will lead Product at Hesa.

About Hesa:

Hesa is a unified social, digital and physical (phygital) commerce platform enabling digital transactions of products and services in rural India. Headquartered in Hyderabad, Hesa with integrated B2B marketplace is enabling buying and selling of various services and products with an almost ‘doorstep access’ with a network of 30,000 village network entrepreneurs serving more than 700,000 customers in a short span of one year. Hesa has partnered with more than 65+ brands, this unique model is a win-win initiative for both entrepreneurs and startups.

Agri-fintech Startup Hesa to Provide Financial Solutions to Over 60k Hesaathis Across 30,000 Villages in 2022

The financial services provided also increases the productivity of farmers - as it reduces the time to travel to another village as most of the remote villages do not have a bank account so through Hesa this is being eliminated

Hyderabad - based Agri-Fintech startup Hesa, announced that it aims to provide financial solutions to over 60K Hesaathi’s across 30,000 villages in tier 2 and 3 cities. The feature will provide ease of transitions such as bill payments, opening an account to withdraw money, small needs like mobile recharge, bus ticket booking, opening DEMAT accounts, opening a fixed deposit account and electricity bills etc to rural India. With this, the app works towards bridging the gap between the financial services providers with their last-mile target consumers using a phygital approach. It expands and empowers businesses to ride the rural value chain for buying and selling leveraging our technology and human capabilities.

With this, the app aims to solve financial challenges and accessibility in remote rural locations and enable the technology for both customers and the brands from buying, selling, promoting, and delivering. It is currently accessible in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and will soon expand its operations into five additional states of India starting with Maharashtra in the next quarter.

The financial services provided also increases the productivity of farmers - as it reduces the time to travel to another village as most of the remote villages do not have a bank account so through Hesa this is being eliminated. This applies to all who are doing different business in the rural market. The app works towards bridging the gap between the financial services providers with their last-mile target consumers using a phygital approach. It expands and empowers businesses to ride the rural value chain for buying and selling, leveraging our technology and human capabilities.

Rishabh Shah, Chief Strategy Officer & Head-Fintech, Hesa said, “We are in an era where the rate of fintech adoption is immense as there is an exponential increase in the rate of smartphone penetration in India. Mobile payments have been a joy for customers in urban and rural India. With our services, we want to empower rural India in a way that they are owners of their own business and still at the same time they are associated with us so they have employment options. Currently, the platform has over 15 Lakh transactions a month and we aim at having more than 30 Lakh transactions by the end of 2022.”

The vision of the company is to provide not only employment opportunities but to provide all kinds of services which are easily available if you are living in a metropolitan city becoming the one stop destination for rural India. This will also develop these markets in a way that people now do not have to come to big cities to find job opportunities, people can easily sustain themselves in rural India as well with proper job facilities.

Hesa is a unified social, digital and physical (phygital) commerce platform enabling digital transactions of products and services in rural India. Headquartered in Telangana, Hesa with integrated B2B marketplace is enabling buying and selling of various services and products with an almost ‘doorstep access’ with a network of 30,000 village network entrepreneurs serving more than 700,000 customers in a short span of one year. Hesa has partnered with more than 65+ brands, this unique model is a win-win initiative for both entrepreneurs and startups.

Rural Tech Start-up Hesa Acquires Digital MarketTech Platform Gullybuy

 

Hyderabad based rural technology startup Hesa recently announced its acquisition of GullyBuy- a digital MarketTech platform, based out of Pune. By acquiring GullyBuy’s software and IP, that helps consumers with comparison of local/city merchants to buy products, Hesa will include last-mile sales enablement on its platform more efficiently. Founded in 2019, GullyBuy offers unique technology that simplifies local shopping experience through a digital marketplace that directly connects buyers and stores in neighbourhoods (gullies) across India.

The acquisition of GullyBuy will further strengthen Hesa’s presence in rural geographies and empower village level entrepreneurs (Hesaathis) to manage a powerful last mile e-commerce capability so end consumers enjoy a faster, smoother and simplified shopping experience. Leveraging technology and its 32,000 and growing on ground workforce called Hesaathi, Hesa efficiently connects end-to-end business to the rural population at the doorstep for buying, selling, promoting, marketing, services and more. The robust supply chain and user-friendly API allows Hesa to create business and employment opportunities in remote areas.

Commenting on the acquisition, Vamsi Udayagiri, Founder and CEO Hesa said, “We are excited to announce our first acquisition of GullyBuy. Its mobile first technology is aligned with Hesa’s vision of curating unique solutions for rural India. As India’s largest tech integrated marketplace that enables ease of commerce in rural India, the IP and software acquisition of GullyBuy, will further enable Hesa to execute and manage large scale operations.”

Swati Deodhar, Co-founder, GullyBuy said “Our unique technology combined with Hesa's commerce platform will empower their strong network of rural entrepreneurs via new business capabilities. With innovative solutions for local stores, a segment that has been underserved by the digital economy, our objective together is ease of management for local businessmen with rapid scale.”

Focusing on user efficiency and expansion, Hesa is on a growth trajectory with 32,000 micro entrepreneurs on its platform across 5 states in India. With 65+ brand partnerships and 60,00,000 consumer base, Hesa is committed towards ease of commerce and business in rural India through their unique technology platform.

Rural Tech Startup Hesa Forays into Consumer Segment With the Launch of 'Suhas' Brand

One of the largest rural marketplace Hesa has launched a household consumer brand called “Suhas” on 6th April 2022. The new consumer segment will offer a wide range of kitchen essentials ranging from lentils, spices, grains and more at affordable prices for consumers to discover in local Kirana stores and e-commerce platform of Hesa.

Built with an in-depth understanding of consumer needs, Suhas focuses on recreating authentic flavour and formulating delightful taste of Indian food. Leveraging Hesa’s network of 30,00,000 consumers and 30,000 Hesaathi’s, Suhas aims to become the household consumer brand of rural India with assured taste, trust and premium quality.

The brand has received a phenomenal response from customers prior to its launch with over 2 crores of pre-orders from various markets. Following a phase-wise, roll-out plan, Suhas will be available across the southern market in the next 12-18 months, followed by the west, east and north markets.

In line with the Indian Government’s mission of #localforvocal launched in 2020, Hesa envisions to empower farmers by directly procuring from them. Hesa is enabling transactions, promotions and access in rural India becoming the largest rural marketplace. Foraying into a new category, Hesa is on a mission to strengthen its consumer portfolio. Suhas aims to educate consumers about the Indian food authenticity with its expertise in sourcing and procurement.

Commenting on the announcement Vamsi Udayagiri, Founder and CEO Hesa said “Working in rural India for more than a decade, we discovered the consumer need for quality and affordable spices. With Suhas going forward we plan to directly procure produce from Farmers Interest Groups (FIGs) , Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and other agri groups in the future. The idea is to elevate the earning potential of the farmers without any additional cost. Hesa aims to bolster its commitment of empowering rural India by addressing the challenges of branding and market access through Suhas”.

India is a land of fertile soil and agriculture known for its spices and rich heritage. Hesa is on a mission to preserve the Indian heritage of spice and provide consumers with natural and chemical free ingredients. The consumers have become more informed of their food choices and now seek trust and quality. Home made food in Indian families still holds immense cultural value. Suhas brings the highest quality, taste on table with unique formations and delightful taste for consumers.

The technology-enabled commerce platform of Hesa efficiently connects end-to-end business to the rural population at the doorstep by the on-ground workforce called Hesaathi, with buying, selling, promoting, marketing, services all enrolled in one platform, Hesa has become the go-to-market solutions in rural India. Using a robust supply chain and user-friendly API, Hesa creates business and employment opportunities in remote areas. The company is leveraging rural entrepreneurship and offering dignified livelihood opportunities with the holistic development of rural communities.

Hesa to Onboard 1.5 Lakh Microlevel Entrepreneurs in 2022 Across Rural Parts of India

Hesa, which is on a mission to uplift rural entrepreneurs, announced today that it will onboard more than 1.5 Lakh microlevel entrepreneurs by the end of 2022. With this Hesa, the rural- tech startup will empower these entrepreneurs across rural parts of India such as the states of Karnataka , Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and plans to grow into five additional states by the end of this year. 

Expanding its network of microlevel entrepreneurs (Hesaathi), the startup focuses on offering a range of products and services in order to solve the challenges of accessibility, availability and buying and selling in remote rural locations. Identifying the right talent on the ground, the field officer onboards Hesaathi who are then trained to use the platform. After the completion of the training, Hesaathis are awarded with a certificate and then roll on the platform.

Established in 2020, Hesa is a technology-enabled rural commerce platform empowering livelihood in rural areas, enabling access to quality products and services. With currently a total of 30000+ microlevel entrepreneurs (Hesaathi), the startup continues to bolster its rural network across India. Hesa is providing the micro entrepreneurs to settle with dignified work in local villages allowing them to make Rs 8000 to Rs 12000 income monthly.

Hesaathis onboarded at Hesa will be incharge of the supply chain at a local level, facilitating village level mapping, surveys, campaigns and promotions for the company's brand partners. Hesaathis also helps rural consumers with everyday transactions on the platform like utility bill payments, buying and selling of products across sectors and more. Where the rural customer visits Hesaathi in their village for multiple needs in a single visit, which also fulfils the demand of social distancing in the current times, avoiding long commutes in shared vehicles or standing in longer queues, Hesaathis are also able to generate income through commission on every transaction they make on the platform. The startup's business model thereby provides solutions at both ends- Connecting businesses to rural India and enabling scalable solutions for rural households, helping them with progressive livelihoods.

On the team expansion plans, Founder & CEO, Vamsi Udayagiri quotes “As a technology enabled platform we are empowering livelihood in rural areas, providing access to quality products and services. Our endeavour is to bridge the gap between rural and urban India by leveraging technology and the workforce. We at Hesa, are overwhelmed with the response we have received in the last 2 years and we are ready to scale our services across multiple states with our innovative tech solutions.

Hesa is a social enterprise enabling convenience with multiple solutions for both ends connecting rural entrepreneurs and brands. The startup has connected 65+ brands to 600,000 rural customers through its network of 30,000 village-level entrepreneurs in around 50,000 Indian villages. The startup has also received recognition for its outstanding contribution in helping 11+ lakh rural households and 10,000+ job creation in a short span of one year. The company further aims to impact 3 crore rural livelihoods and onboard 1.5Lakh microlevel entrepreneurs in 2022. With buying, selling, promoting, marketing, services all enrolled in one platform, Hesa has become the go-to-market solutions in rural India.

Telangana-based Rural-Tech Startup Hesa Receives International Recognition at Dubai Expo 2020

World Expo 2020, which is currently being hosted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 1st October 2021 to 31st March 2022, has recognised Hesa as the leading rural-tech startup from India for its sustainable and unique business model contributing to uplift lives in rural India. Hesa successfully participated in the five-day event at the Indian Innovation Hub with other 191 country pavilions representing the Telangana state.

Participating in the event Hesa, alongside other 13 startups from Telangana presented to investors from gulf countries at Elevate II, Taj Business Bay, Near Burj Khalifa. The participation has opened doors for Hesa to add value in the business and achieve excellence through international exposure and collaborations. Highlighting business opportunities for participants, the Dubai Expo Business program is offering support to innovation technology impacting and creating a difference through sustainable interventions. Allowing networking with business representatives at scale, Expo is connecting inspiring minds to stimulate innovation and tangible opportunities.

Commenting on the participation Co-Founder and CEO Hesa, Vamsi Udayagiri quotes, “It was an honor to have the opportunity to meet business delegates from across the globe at the Innovation bus organized by India Pavilion where Hesa was appreciated and recognised for bringing change in rural communities in India. Showcasing our platform at a global scale has given us the opportunity to reach the right set of investors and accelerate growth. Various corporations and industry associations have also expressed their interest to work with Hesa as the model can bring relevance in places like MENA, Africa, and Latin America”.

Addressing the challenge of last-mile delivery and connection in rural India, Hesa is reaching the remotest villages with resources. With the phygital model (physical and digital approach), leveraging technology Hesa is helping rural India connect to the larger economy alongside an opportunity for digital development. The global event of Expo 2021 will further help impact businesses to expand and scale across borders.

Established in 2020, the tech based platform is impacting millions of rural lives with access and connectivity to quality products and services. Hesa is enabling a door-step buying, selling approach; the startup has reached 11 Lakh+ rural households. Empowering rural entrepreneurs with employment and income, Hesa has 10,000+ Village Level Entrepreneurs(VLE’s) called Hesaathis on their platform.

Telangana-based Rural Tech Startup Hesa Receives 450K Grant From NABARD to Up-Skill 100 Rural Women in Odisha

Telangana-based rural tech startup Hesa has received a grant of INR 450k from NABARD to upskill 100 rural women promoting Self Help Groups (SHGs) through capacity building in the geographies of Jajpur, Odisha. The two-month-long project aims at empowering women in the community with skill development and income enhancement, creating an overall impact. To ensure women's empowerment, Hesa will use the grant to increase women's participation at work with digital and financial awareness.

Established in 2020, Hesa is a socially, digitally, and physically integrated platform empowering livelihood in rural areas, enabling access to quality products and services. Connecting businesses to rural India and enabling scalable solutions for rural households Hesa is a one-stop solution for all rural problems. Using the “One District One Product” (ODOP) model, the partnership will benefit from scale procurement of inputs, availing standard services, and marketing of products.

“We are excited to join NABARD on the rural development mission. The joint initiative will empower Self Help Groups (SHGs) women with entrepreneurial opportunities and further boost institutionalised credit support leading to prosperity for rural women in Odisha. With market access creation and enhancing end-to-end infrastructure supply chain, we look forward to overall development of the rural community” said Vamsi Udayagiri Co-Founder and CEO Hesa.

With skill training, active women participation from Self Help Groups(SHGs), the partnership between Hesa and NABARD aims to address the grassroots challenges of the lack of resources, access to modern technology, and inadequate quality in the food processing industry. Creating micro-entrepreneurship opportunities with increased women engagement will help improve end-to-end agriculture infrastructure and organize the food processing industry. The project will provide opportunities for credit facilitation, easy loan access, and financial independence to women, leading to economic empowerment and self-reliance with income enhancement. Hesa will help strengthen agricultural performance and development in project-specific geographies promoting capacity building.

The partnership envisions empowering rural women with opportunities, independence, and financial empowerment, enabling an equitable life and lifestyle. NABARD and Hesa together intend to support women with investments and upscaling operations organising the food processing sector by overcoming the performance and development challenges. Hesa is a social enterprise enabling convenience with multiple solutions for both ends connecting rural entrepreneurs and brands. Empowering 11Lakh rural households to date, Hesa is on a mission to reach 15 million households, uplifting rural consumers with digital literacy, opportunity, and financial inclusion.

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is an apex regulatory body for the overall regulation of regional rural banks and apex cooperative banks in India. It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. The bank has been entrusted with "matters concerning policy, planning, and operations in the field of credit for agriculture and other economic activities in rural areas in India". NABARD is active in developing & implementing Financial Inclusion.

Rural-Tech Startups Frontier Markets, Hesa and 1Bridge Join Hands To Form Rural Access Coalition for Covid-19 Resilience

Rural Access Coalition brings together Social Enterprises with strong rural supply chains, robust digital market infrastructure, and an extensive last mile network of trusted entrepreneurs

The mission is to raise $8 mn to support 1 mn rural families across 4 states of India namely Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka via their network of 30K+ rural entrepreneurs

The Coalition is opening its platform to donors, ecosystem enablers, experts and practitioners to help deliver to the rural population at scale

New Delhi, India, 29 June 2021: Frontier Markets, HESA and 1Bridge has announced the formation of a coalition to address the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic in the rural sector. With a collective of 30 years of experience in rural India, the coalition aims to raise $8mn to ensure employment, awareness and accessibility to 1 million rural households in 6,000 villages across 4 states in India. The mission of the coalition is to support rural families to become Covid resilient, while contributing to job creation and economic resilience in rural India.

The Rural Access Coalition for COVID-19 Resilience is composed of rural supply chain companies, grassroots organizations and ecosystem enablers in a joint coalition effort to uplift the depreciating lifestyle and infrastructure in rural India, which is a result of the global pandemic. Opening its platform to donors, ecosystem enablers, experts and practitioners to help deliver to the rural population at scale, the coalition has partnered with Armman and Noora Health for Covid-19 & maternal-related information, training and services, which will be accompanied with Raksha Kits (PPE kits and supplies) by 1MG to provide access to equipment to every rural household. The participation also includes ecosystem enablers Sattva Consulting and United Way Delhi alongside Head Held High Foundation and BASIX-BABLE for capacity building.

A recent report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) revealed over 52% deaths in the total mortality rate account for covid whereas nearly 3 million salaried employees lost their jobs. The coalition will help in Covid resilience and create employment opportunities in the rural sector. Together, Frontier Markets, Hesa and 1Bridge have an army of 30,000+ micro level entrepreneurs who will execute this mission on ground to ensure access to everyday essentials without disruption to daily lives. The coalition will maximise a deep-rooted impact with a holistic approach by amplifying the sustainable development goals of gender equality, employment, improved infrastructure and better livelihood in rural India.

The primary focus of Covid-19 resilience will be achieved through a strategic approach:

• Providing credible knowledge to rural communities through an on-ground network of entrepreneurs using various mediums will build COVID-19 awareness and relief measures.
• Adequate access to essential deliveries including consumer goods, PPE kits, masks and more.
• Training and camps with healthcare organisations will ensure critical health care services including relief guidelines and measures.
• Leveraging their convening power, the network of entrepreneurs have already been helping people with vaccine and covid measures.

Commenting on the same, Ajaita Shah Founder and CEO Frontier Markets said "The Rural Access Coalition is the first of its kind - FM is proud to be driving this initiative, and honored to work alongside such great founders; it will help overcome the grass root level challenges in rural India directly, and quickly.. Rural customers/families suffer the most as they are deprived of resources despite big companies coming forward. Our contribution will be a massive needed gender lens - as Frontier Markets' entire 10,000 Saheli network will connect deeply to amplify the gender-based health needs of the community alongside accessibility, economic development and opportunities. We have responded to the needs of our community from demonetization to climate change, so health is the next obvious requirement; partnering with colleagues, only reinforces a common goal towards elevating our mission to simplify rural lives for a better livelihood at scale."

Launching this coalition, Madan Padaki, Founder & CEO, 1Bridge said "Access, Choice and Convenience has always been a challenge for rural consumers across products & services and 1Bridge has been systematically addressing these challenges through its village commerce network of entrepreneurs. With the onslaught of the pandemic, it is now critical to solve for these from a healthcare perspective, where we can deliver care & supplies right at the doorsteps of rural consumers while generating new models of economic opportunities for entrepreneurs. We look forward to being a part of this Rural Access Coalition and working together to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis in rural India."

"We strive to largely empower rural India by enabling accessibility, availability, connectivity and providing business and earning opportunities, all rolled under one platform. Amidst the pandemic, we have been addressing various challenges across the rural sector through our initiatives with the aim of providing better livelihoods. With our strong network of over 7000 Hesaathis across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, we have been able to provide physical, digital and social connectivity to rural communities and bridge the urban-rural gap in India. We look forward to making rural communities become Covid resilient with this coalition." added Vamsi Udayagiri, Co-Founder and CEO Hesa.

Social businesses Frontier Markets, Hesa and 1Bridge thriving in rural India are building resistance and strengthening the pillar of support in rural India impacting thousands in their respective geographies. Frontier Markets, which is a women-led social enterprise, has been working with rural communities for 10 years adapting its products and services to respond to evolving consumer needs and disruptive challenges on the ground with a strong network of 10,000 Sahelis (Saral Jeevan Sahelis) in North India. Similarly, 1Bridge has been operating across 6000+ villages predominantly within Southern India, empowering 7000+ rural entrepreneurs or 1Bridge Advisors (1BAs) not just by providing additional employment opportunities, but also strengthening their social capital as trusted advisors to community folks in their villages.