Bizongo

Direct: By aggregating small-scale manufacturers on its online platform, Bizongo enables better market access for these small businesses, additional demand, and efficiencies (better capacity utilisation, planning, and faster working capital) fuelling business growth. Bizongo’s main manufacturing partners have experienced more than 150 per cent year-on-year revenue growth since doing business with Bizongo. More than 65 per cent of suppliers report improved growth in customers and sales due to Bizongo.

Pan-India: 24 Indian states out of 36 (including Union territories)

• Mainly unskilled workers within the bottom 43 per cent of the population.
• More than 80 per cent of suppliers employ female employees, where they make up 25 per cent of the workforce.

Additional 1,000 manufacturing partners across India, indirectly sustaining an additional 20,000 to 30,000 workers.

50 per cent of surveyed suppliers report improved business outlook due to Bizongo and report paying their workers more than similar businesses. A majority of the unskilled workforce is made up of contractual labour, who work at these firms for 2-3 years on average. Employees in managerial or administrative positions tend to stay on for longer, with some reporting over 10 years and some reporting as many as 20 years of employment

-

This investment is made under an approved Catalyst Strategy, and therefore does not require a grid score.

Market context: Lack of funding for early-stage ventures in India constrains market growth. Series C deals have the lowest volume increase by investment stage year-on-year. Few market alternatives to Bizongo’s services exist.

Financial: The commercial market does not offer capital in sufficient quantities to meet the company's plans / needs. The round would be smaller without British International Investment’s co-investment, which could affect the expected scale of impact. We are confident that we are not crowding out commercial capital.

• Execution: Relates to the risk of Bizongo not being able to scale up their network expansion across new geographies and business lines beyond packaging. This risk is aligned with commercial risks and can be mitigated through British International Investment and Chiratae’s strategic value-add.
• Unexpected: Relates to the risk of some manufacturing partners failing to deliver quality employment conditions for workers and having a negative climate impact (e.g. water pollution). Risks are not correlated with commercial risks and will be mitigated through partners’ Environmental and Social Management Systems.
• Alignment: Risk of impact not being entirely correlated with future business strategy and growth, impairing ability to reach low-income workers at scale. As the fragmented nature of the Indian market is unlikely to change in the next 10-15 years, Bizongo’s competitive advantage will remain focussing on MSMEs, sustaining our impact thesis. The medium-term risk to any change is believed to be low.