Trust, not discounts, is the key to unlocking rural e-commerce in India, according to Adwait Vikram Singh, Co-founder of Rozana, as the company scales its presence across villages. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Singh said the platform is leveraging community networks over conventional discount-led strategies to drive adoption. “If we have champions… in villages, they are able to bring in that trust that social media was not able to unlock,” he noted.
With rural consumption pegged at over $2 trillion and outpacing urban demand, Rozana is betting on its hybrid model spanning digital commerce and physical centres. The company, which has recently raised ₹290 crore in a Series B round led by Bertelsmann India Investments, already serves over a million households across 21,000 villages.
Singh said Rozana is nearing a ₹1,000 crore annual run rate, with “about 60% of the growth” driven by deeper penetration. Notably, 90% of its users are first-time e-commerce consumers. He added that large players have struggled as their “primary focus has been urban India”, while Rozana is building for Bharat with a focus on unit economics and affordability.
First Published: Mar 17, 2026 8:19 PM IST
