To run a business today, manufacturers must master geopolitics, says Zetwerk CEO Amrit Acharya

Zetwerk CEO Amrit Acharya

Zetwerk is entering new geographies and diversifying its supply chain to mitigate risk, contract manufacturing startup’s co-founder and CEO Amrit Acharya has said.

The comments come as global trade is being upended by US President Donald Trump’s tariff war and amid growing worries that India and other countries could be the target of his tit-for-tat taxes, which he plans to impose from April 2.

“As an entrepreneur, when you start a business, you don’t think of hedging and diversification. But over a period of time, diversification is a good trait to have,” Acharya said at the TiECon Mumbai 2025 event on March 12.

“In addition to being an expert in manufacturing, we also need to become an expert in geopolitics for our business long term.”

Until recently, the company largely manufactured its products in India and supplied to global markets. But now it has set up supply chains in the markets like the US, Mexico and Vietnam as well.

“Our international business is largely US-led… In fact, one-third of our US fulfilment happens from the US market itself,” Acharya said.

Zetwerk’s strategy to hedge its bets comes at a time when the tariff war initiated by the US is expected to disrupt global supply chains and impact India’s exports, particularly in sectors such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, and auto components, a recent Crisil report said.

According to Acharya, the company’s European foray in 2024 was partly aimed at mitigating risk.

“It is a decision I would not have taken today. I would have probably waited another two or three years before entering another market…These are all extra costs in the short term. We have to prepone these decisions from a risk point of view but thinking a bit longer term, these are tradeoffs we are comfortable with making, especially as a private company,” he said.

Rising geopolitical tensions have also worked in favour of Zetwerk. The startup has benefitted from companies choosing India as their manufacturing hub to diversify beyond China as part of the China plus one policy.

“Around 50-60 percent of our revenues come from China plus one. Customers that used to buy from China are now buying from India and half of that is exports,” Acharya said.

In FY24, Zetwerk’s total gross merchandise value (GMV) grew 35 percent to Rs 17,564 crore (about $2.1 billion) from the previous year. Its revenue went from Rs 11,450 crore to Rs 14,450 crore.

Zetwerk has reportedly picked banks, including Axis Capital, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, JM Financial, JPMorgan Chase, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, for an IPO that could raise at least $500 million at a valuation of around $5 billion. The listing could happen as early as this year.

To strengthen its cap table ahead of the IPO, the company is in talks to raise $20-30 million from family offices and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) at a valuation of $3.1 billion.