Tech startup Bizzo raises $2M in funding to digitally empower India's SMB ecosystem

Mumbai-based BizzO, a tech startup empowering the digitization of small and independent service businesses, today announced it has raised $2 million (approx. Rs 15 crore) in funding led by ICICI Bank and Orios Venture Partners.

BizzO’s funding announcement is in tandem with several other developments in the market that continue to create a more conducive environment for tech-led innovation in open digital commerce.  Chief among these is the Government of India’s Open Network of Digital Commerce (ONDC) initiative.

An open architecture-based UPI-like platform for trade in goods & services, major financial institutions such as ICICI Bank, SBI & CSC have already announced significant investments in ONDC. BizzO’s vision is, thus, aligned with the overall market direction as it aims to develop a universal seller-side app to facilitate the digitization of services.

According to the statement, Over the past decade, small and independent service businesses have lost out on their branding and pricing power, and have witnessed erosion of profit margins due to hefty commissions charged by aggregators.

Additionally, the Indian services sector is largely unorganized with over 100 million small & independent service businesses in dire need of full-stack solutions to directly connect with their customers.

Founded in 2021, BizzO says it aims to address these pain points by handing back the power to these service-preneurs so that they regain connection with their customer base and control all aspects of their business.

"For too long now, India’s small businesses were pushed towards aggregation," said Viineit Toshniiwal, CEO & Co-Founder at Bizzo. " However, the trend now is to move towards de-aggregation and reduced dependence on centralised monolith platforms with closed systems. The next decade is going to be all about unbundling and using open architecture-based systems that brings autonomy to small and independent businesses," Toshniiwal said.

“India’s service businesses don't need middlemen, they need a medium, thus, BizzO’s ultimate goal is to become the go-to solution provider for SMB businesses looking to join the digital mainstream and enjoy the perks of digitisation. This funding is the first step towards achieving our dream,” added Toshniiwal.

Anup Jain, Managing Partner, Orios Venture Partners, said: “At Orios, we always back tenacious and visionary founders, especially those who are determined to become change-makers. Bizzo’s plan to empower the SMB services ecosystem is in line with our overall thesis of backing ideas that use technology to disrupt traditional ecosystems, thus, benefitting all stakeholders. We are excited to partner with Bizzo in this mission.”

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