Tul colombian 181m 8vc, a Bogota, Colombia-based e-commerce platform that supports developing communities by giving independently owned hardware stores regular access to building supplies, inventory management tools, invoicing services, and chances to diversify their sources of income, has secured $181 million in Series B funding.
The round, which brought the total capital to date to little under $210 million, was led by 8VC and extended by Avenir. Monashees, Lightrock, Coatue, Tiger Global, Fundamental, Vine, Marathon Labs, and H20 are additional investors in this round.
The investment will be used by the business to hasten its growth into Brazil and other Latin American countries.
Tul is a smartphone application and B2B e-commerce platform run by Enrique Villamarin, the company’s CEO and co-founder, that streamlines the construction materials supply chain for hardware retailers throughout Latin America. The company, which will be established in March 2020, wants to automate the operations of small, regional hardware stores, which account for 50% of the sales of building supplies in the area. In March 2020, the company opened in Colombia. It presently has operations in five Colombian cities, two Ecuadorian cities, Mexico City, and Guadalajara, with aspirations to grow into additional Latin American markets including Brazil. With some of the main construction suppliers in the area, such as Gerdau, ArcelorMittal, Ternium, Sika, Wavin, Henkel, Phillips Assa Abloy, Bosch, DeWalt, Milwaukee, Cemex, and others, Tul has developed ties.
