Rural commerce startup Rozana has closed a ₹290 crore Series B funding round, led by Bertelsmann India Investments (BII). The raise comes at a time when India’s rural consumption market serving over 200 million households is growing roughly 33% faster than urban markets for six straight quarters, yet remains largely ignored by mainstream e-commerce players.
Rozana is built specifically for this gap. Operating across Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, the platform combines a consumer app with 75+ physical retail experience centres and its own last-mile delivery network. At the core of its model are over 35,000 women entrepreneurs embedded in local communities, who act as trusted agents rather than just delivery partners a model quite different from the typical discount-driven urban e-commerce approach.
The platform currently serves more than 1 million active rural households and plans to use this funding to expand to 200+ stores while entering 2–3 more states across the Gangetic belt.
Pankaj Makkar, MD at BII, noted that Rozana has grown its revenue 4x since its last funding round, signalling strong product-market fit. Partner Rohit Sood added that placing women entrepreneurs at the heart of the supply chain is what makes Rozana’s model stand out where traditional e-commerce has consistently failed.
