Moglix raises $12M Series B to digitize India’s manufacturing industry

Moglix launched in 2015 as an online store for tools and construction supplies, but now it’s venturing into enterprise software with the launch of GreenGST to help Indian manufacturers become compliant with the country’s new tax codes. The Noida-headquartered startup announced today that it has raised a $12 million Series B, which it will use to develop its supply chain management technology and expand into more manufacturing hubs.

The latest round of funding includes new investors International Finance Corporation (IFC, a member of the World Bank Group) and Rocketship.vc. Existing investors Accel Partners, Jungle Ventures, Shailesh Rao and Venture Highway also returned to participate. Moglix’s total raised so far is now $18 million. It also counts Ratan Tata, the former chairman of Tata Sons and one of India’s leading industrialists, as a backer.

Founder and CEO Rahul Garg tells TechCrunch that Moglix, named after the main character in The Jungle Book series, wants to “bring global standards to the Indian manufacturing sector.”

Even though the industry is worth $300 billion, just two to three percent of manufacturers currently use software to manage their supply chains, making it one of the least digitized industries in India, says Garg.

India’s recently implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST), however, means that manufacturers will have to digitize in a hurry, because they are now required to file indirect taxes (which include service and sales tax) online. The Modi government also is trying to encourage a cashless economy and to get more people to open bank accounts and make digital payments by setting policies like the demonetization of almost all cash in circulation, giving companies even more incentive to start using software.

Launched last month, GreenGST helps manufacturers keep track of deadlines and make sure all the vendors in their supply chain are also compliant with GST. Moglix is already in Delhi NCR, Pune and Chennai, but will set up operations in three new cities with its Series B capital.