Rozana, a rural commerce startup, receives $30 million and is valued at about $200 million

Rural commerce startup Rozana has raised $30 million (₹275 crore) in a new funding round led by existing investors Bertelsmann India Investments and Fireside Ventures, according to cofounder and CEO Ankur Dahiya. The round also included participation from new investors such as the family office of snack maker Bikaji Foods International’s promoters and U.S.-based venture firm Spark Growth Ventures. Around $5 million of the funding is debt, Dahiya said.

Following the funding, Rozana’s valuation has more than doubled to nearly $200 million, compared with around $80–85 million in 2024, when the company raised $22.5 million.

Founded in 2021 by Dahiya along with Adwait Vikram Singh and Mukesh Christopher, the company operates an omnichannel retail network covering about 21,000 villages in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The business started in the Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh and has since expanded to 16 districts across the two states.

Rozana sells products across several categories including staples, snacks, apparel, toys, stationery, home-care items and electronics. According to Dahiya, around 40% of sales come from staples and snacks.

The company currently operates more than 75 retail stores and plans to expand this number to over 200 outlets, while also entering two to three additional states in the Gangetic belt. Planned expansion markets include Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Punjab.

Dahiya said that since 2024 the company has focused less on geographic expansion and more on deepening its presence in existing villages, increasing household penetration and expanding product categories to capture a larger share of rural spending.

Financially, Rozana reported ₹272 crore in revenue in FY25 and aims to more than double that to around ₹600 crore in FY26. In February alone, the company generated ₹70 crore in revenue, translating to an annualised revenue run rate of about ₹840 crore.

The funding comes amid growing investor interest in startups serving Tier-3 towns and rural markets. Companies such as SuperK raised ₹100 crore last year from Binny Bansal’s 3State Ventures and Mithun Sacheti. Similarly, value fashion retailer CityKart secured ₹538 crore in funding, while grocery startup Apna Mart raised $25 million from investors including Nandan Nilekani’s Fundamentum Partnership, Accel, Peak XV Partners and Sparrow Capital.

However, unlike many of these companies that focus on towns and districts, Rozana’s model targets gram panchayats, villages and rural blocks directly. Dahiya said more than 200 million rural households in India spend over ₹20,000 per month across categories such as FMCG, personal care, apparel and household goods. Rural consumption growth has also outpaced urban demand by about 33% for six consecutive quarters, highlighting the opportunity in the segment.