SBI Group and Standard Chartered Ventures-backed B2B digital marketplace for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Solv, is planning an initial public offering by the end of 2026, CEO and board member Amit Bansal told Fe.
The company aims to achieve Ebitda profitability by the time of listing, with current gross merchandise value (GMV) at $650 million and an expected increase to over $1 billion by then. The firm also expects to reach unit-level profitability, accounting for all variable costs including logistics and distribution expenses, by the end of this year.
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Operating across categories such as apparel, home furnishings, footwear, small consumer electronics, toys, sports, and dry grocery items, Solv connects small retailers directly with manufacturers. Bansal described Solv’s approach as similar to China’s Alibaba, positioning the platform as a solution for India’s fragmented MSME sector. “Out of the top five or ten global markets, India and China are the only ones that are large, growing, and fragmented,” he said. “The US is large but not fragmented, while markets like Japan and the UK are large but flat. India is the only country left where a second Alibaba can be built.”
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Solv’s annualised revenue from transaction commissions currently stands at $23.8 million, with additional revenue coming from manufacturers who pay for premium visibility within the marketplace.
Over the past three years, Solv’s revenue has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 336%, reaching Rs 88.1 crore in FY23, up from Rs 71 crore in FY22 and Rs 1.7 crore in FY21. Meanwhile, Solv’s losses have also expanded at a CAGR of 80%, rising from Rs 63.7 in FY21 to Rs 103.3 in FY22 and Rs 266.6 crore in FY23.
To date, Solv has raised around $150 million, with Bansal indicating that further funding is likely as the company approaches its IPO target.
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