New Delhi [India], August 19 (ANI): Newly listed e-commerce enablement and shipping aggregator Shiprocket sees significant room to expand its reach among the country's micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as per Saahil Goel, MD and CEO of Shiprocket.
Shiprocket's initial public offering (IPO), which was open from August 12-14, was subscribed 99.38 times, while its shares made a strong debut on Wednesday, listing at a 35.05 per cent premium on the NSE.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Goel highlighted the company's long growth runway, noting that India has more than 6 crore MSMEs. "We barely powered half a percent or less, you know, like 200,000 of them. So, there is a very long journey ahead of us," he said.
Goel said Shiprocket's broader objective is to bring more small businesses into the digital economy across sectors. "We are basically trying to digitise India's small businesses, whether it is retail business, manufacturing, B2B, trading or anything else."
Expressing gratitude for the strong investor response, Goel said the IPO marked a significant moment for Shiprocket, as the company's vision, which was initially backed by its team and private investors, had now received broader validation from Indian investors.
"I was also telling my team that till now in Shiprocket, only we and our private investors were believing. Today, India has believed, so many applications have come, around 100x oversubscription has come. So, it has been a very motivating thing for us," he said.
Goel highlighted Shiprocket's cross-border capabilities, saying the platform enables small businesses to sell their products directly to customers in international markets.
"One of the things that we offer is that we also help to sell their goods outside India. So, like in Jaipur, there can be a small gemstone or jewellery seller, they can directly do B2C from India to America or Europe or UK or Australia, they can list it on the marketplace outside India," he said.
He added that the strong investor response has given the company greater confidence to expand its reach. "I think this excitement and this validation gives us the courage and the power to kind of, you know, continue doing more and more of this and reach more and more of India as we do this."The Rs 1,617.48-crore IPO had a price band of Rs 92-Rs 97 per equity share and was backed by prominent investors, including Temasek and Eternal. At the time of reporting, the scrip was trading at around Rs 139.77 per share on NSE against the issue price of Rs 97 per share. (ANI)
Shiprocket eyes wider MSME reach as shares debut at 35% premium; 'very long journey ahead,' says MD & CEO Saahil Goel
