The Chicago-based online marketplace Eved, whose online platform connects members of the meeting and event industry, has reportedly secured $9.5 million funding in a Series B round. The financing round was led by New World Ventures and MK Capital.

The company plans to utilize the capital to scale and expand its proprietary platform which provides those in the event industry supplies chain with a sourcing, marketing and e-commerce solution.

Started in 2010 with the goal of transforming the $263 billion meeting and event industry, Eved now has over 2,500 users including organizations, third-party meeting and incentive companies, event planning and destination management companies, hotels, event venues and suppliers.

Eved enables service providers to offer their services at a competitive price. Eved helps meeting suppliers to expand their business online, grow their companies and maintain their margins, while event professionals can use Eved to find suppliers, send and track RFPs and manage their supplier networks.

Eved also allows companies to use its online marketplace to buy directly from suppliers and track those purchases via e-invoices.

New World Ventures Partner Matt McCall maintained that Eved allows industry companies to save as much as 25 percent of current costs.

“Eved’s platform is disruptive technology that greatly reduces manual labor hours by incorporating efficient business practices and developing business relationships,” McCall noted.

A few months back, the 10th annual Chicago Innovation Awards recognized the 10 most innovative products and services introduced in the Chicago region during 2010. Along with nine others, Eved was recognized in the Up-and-Comers category. The awards' Gold Sponsor was Wrigley and Silver Sponsors were Comcast Business Class, Cisco (News - Alert), Disney Institute, Spigit, Google and Edelman.

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