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         The project consists of an IFC equity investment of up to US$5 million in Smartpaddle Technology Private Limited (Bizongo or the Company), a Mumbai based company that operates as a B2B technology platform providing one-stop-shop packaging solutions to medium and large companies. The Company curates, on-boards and provides access to SME packaging material manufacturers across India. The end-to end platform allows for strong customer and supplier stickiness and unlocks efficiencies in the supply chain. A. Project Impact
A.1. Stakeholder Impact
A.1.1. Increase in number of SME suppliers reached: Bizongo has more than 2500 registered SMEs, allowing smaller offline players to integrate better into the market.
A.1.2. Increased capacity utilization of SME suppliers by providing access to larger customers: Many SMEs in this sector lack professional expertise to market and distribute products, leading to low (less than 50%) capacity utilization. Bizongo is able to provide incremental demand and process knowhow which has led some suppliers to increase capacity utilization, significantly improving efficiency.
A.1.3. Improved financial sustainability of the SME suppliers through shorter working capital cycles: Suppliers are better able to manage their business financially due to shorter working capital cycles - since they no longer need to approach buyers individually - which leads to lower working capital needs and better inventory and time management. Customer acquisition costs are also decreased.
A.2. Economic Impact
A.2.1. Improved Employment: Bizongo currently gives jobs to ~110 employees directly (of which women are ~30%). Increased order volumes for suppliers could also lead to more employment within the SME packaging sector.
B. Market Impact
B.1. Improve efficiency and innovation by aggregating a highly fragmented industry: Bizongo contributes to market creation by consolidating and tech-enabling the packaging sector, which is currently fragmented and largely unorganized, with more than 30k registered packaging companies, out of which 85% are MSMEs. The platform supports innovation and efficiency by improving quality, developing new designs, standardizing existing designs and improving the efficiency of suppliers to make them more competitive.
B.2. Promoting the digital economy by increasing SME integration into ecommerce: SME B2B ecommerce in India is still underdeveloped. Bringing SMEs into the digital economy improves market linkages, strengthens the value chain and promotes financial inclusion (as digital invoices can prove credit worthiness to banks). This project also signals IFC's confidence in the financial viability of the broader B2B eCommerce space.