New Delhi, Jan 6 (IANS): E-commerce player Dunzo on Thursday raised $240 million to expand its footprint in India.

The freshly raised funds will be used in enabling instant delivery of essentials from a network of micro warehouses while also expanding its 'B2B' business vertical to enable logistics for the local merchants.

Currently, Dunzo is available across seven metro cities in India and the additional capital will be used to expand its business to 15 cities.

The investment was led by Reliance Retail Ventures, with participation from existing investors Lightbox, Lightrock, 3L Capital and Alteria Capital.

With an investment of $200 million, Reliance Retail will own 25.8 per cent stake on a fully diluted basis.

"We are seeing a shift in consumption patterns online and have been highly impressed with how Dunzo has disrupted the space. Dunzo is the pioneer of quick commerce in India and we want to support them in furthering their ambitions of becoming a prominent local commerce enabler in the country," said Isha Ambani, Director at Reliance Retail Ventures.

"Through our partnership with Dunzo, we will be able to provide increased convenience to Reliance Retail's consumers and differentiated customer experience through rapid delivery of products from Reliance Retail stores," she added.

The 'Dunzo Daily' model delivers daily and weekly essentials within 15-20 minutes, with a focus on providing high-quality fruits and vegetables.

"We're excited by the traction and velocity that 'Dunzo Daily' has achieved and over the next three years, we aim to establish ourselves as one of the most reliable quick commerce providers in the country," said Kabeer Biswas, CEO and Co-founder at Dunzo.