Celcius, a SaaS-based cold chain marketplace startup, announced its financial tie-up with Shriram Transport Finance Company (STFC), India’s largest commercial vehicle financier, to fund vehicles and working capital financing for the cold supply chain market. Celcius also announced the launch of Vahan Vikas Samriddhi programme. The programme will financially support aspiring regional entrepreneurs in the transportation sector.

Being established veterans in funding the dry logistics industry, this joint venture marks the expansion of Shriram Transport Finance Company’s services into the cold supply chain sector. Through this partnership, STFC and Celcius will provide LCV and HCV segment vehicles (ranging between 10-50 lakhs) to the cold chain industry. Also, Celcius’s Vahan Vikas Samriddhi will address the reefer supply gap and empower aspiring entrepreneurs to establish operations in the cold chain sector to transport items like the COVID-19 vaccines, perishable fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy and other pharmaceutical products across the country, including remote locations.

Commenting on the prospects of this tie-up, Swarup Bose, Founder and CEO, Celcius said “The cold chain industry has had to accommodate for the lack of assets and infrastructure by working overtime for the last two years. Onboarding native entrepreneurs and helping them start their cold chain journey will give the industry more assets to work with. STFC’s expertise in the organised finance sector will help fund upcoming cold chain transporters, enabling them to kick-start their business. On the other hand, Celcius will provide them with their own- FDA compliant cold chain fleet and increase the visibility of their business through our SaaS-based cold chain aggregator platform.”

An official statement from Shriram Transport Finance Company said,

“Our tie-up with Celcius will help us collaboratively improve the cold chain logistics sector. Efficiency is at the core of everything we do and this joint effort will aid us with streamlining vehicle financing, fuel financing and bill discounting solutions.”

Celcius has been empowering regional transporters since May 2021 with their programme, Vahan Vikas Yojana. Early last year, the startup received funding in a seed funding round from Mumbai Angels Network, along with Huddle, Lumis Partners, Eaglewings Ventures Alliance Network (EVAN), Venture Capital & Private Equity firms MaGEHold, Keiretsu Forum and other investors from Malaysia, Nigeria and the US. Since then, Celcius has directed a lot of their funds towards empowering up-and-coming transporters. By providing benefits like monthly assured income, consistent year-round business, funding, and growth opportunities, the startup aided numerous businesses in 2021.

“Vahan Vikas Samriddhi will be an extension of Vahan Vikas Yojana,” added Swarup. “Businesses can enroll by registering onto our platform and uploading their KYC credentials. From there on, STFC will assist them with funds while Celcius will streamline the process of securing RTO registered vehicles as per their requirements. We wanted to ensure that the registration process is as convenient as possible.”

Celcius and STFC’s unique venture and their well-rounded solution could pave the way for similar financing tie-ups within the cold supply chain industry in the future.