Ratan Tata invests in B2B marketplace Moglix

Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata, currently on a start-up funding spree, has invested an undisclosed amount in business-to-business sourcing platform Moglix.

Moglix is an e-commerce company specialising in B2B procurement of industrial products.

This is Tata's sixth investment in a start-up this year and his first in a B2B ecommerce portal. Tata had last month invested in five start-ups, including DogSpot.in, Tracxn, CashKaro, FirstCry and Teabox (See: TeaBox gets Ratan Tata on board with fresh round fund raising).

With his expertise and a keen interest in the sector, Tata will play an important role in mentoring Moglix on business growth, global expansion and leadership, Moglix said in a statement.

Founded in August 2015 by Rahul Garg, Moglix is focused on the B2B industrial products space for suppliers and buyers across the globe. It specialises in B2B procurement of industrial products such as MRO, fasteners and industrial electricals.

It is partnering manufacturers and distributors across these categories in India, China and other Asian countries.

"We are extremely pleased to have an icon of Indian manufacturing as our advisor. Mr. Tata's contribution to the manufacturing sector has been inspirational and we look forward to his guidance as we steer the company towards transforming the buying and selling process for manufacturers in the country," Garg, CEO and founder of Moglix, said.

Garg said while top global manufacturers have adopted technology for procurement and sales to their advantage a slow adoption of technology has hindered marketing efforts of Indian manufacturers.

"Moglix strongly believes that the unorganised supply chain in India can only be solved with a technology-first mindset," he said.

''The Make in India programme when combined with the digital initiatives in the country have great potential to play a transformative role in India's manufacturing sector.  We need to attract young entrepreneurs to commit to the ''Make in India'' initiative for it to succeed,'' Rahul added.

Moglix recently raised Pre-Series A funding from Accel Partners and Jungle Ventures. The funds are being used to enhance the technology platform, build a deep supplier base as well as increase marketing spends across Asia.

Ratan, chairman emiritus of Tata Trust and senior advisor to IDG Ventures India, has made personal investments in firms like Snapdeal, Kaaryah, Urban Ladder, Bluestone, CarDekho, Sabse Technologies, China's Xiaomi, Ola and DogSpot.in.