Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Crofarm, an agriculture technology startup which connects farmers and retailers, has raised Rs 5 crore in a pre-Series A round from angel investors Rajan Anandan, Google India MD; Jitendra Gupta, PayU India MD; and US-based Factor[e] ventures, among others. The funding was facilitated through LetsVenture platform.

The startup offers a digitized supply chain for agricultural products by bringing farmers and retailers on a common platform. It primarily operates in Delhi-NCR, where it serves more than 100 small and medium retailers through its multiple distribution centres and is connected to farmers across UP, Haryana and Delhi.

Jitendra Gupta, who invested in the current round, said,

Crofarm addresses a very key problem and India’s agri sector has hardly seen any benefits come from technology. It is very exciting to see these entrepreneurs solving such fundamental problems that cater to the $100 billion-plus fruits and vegetables market.

Satyajit Suri, country director for Factor[e]’s India operations, said,

Crofarm uses a combination of smart logistics and a sophisticated technology platform that allows reduction of post-harvest losses, and its asset-light business model lends itself to scalability nationwide.

The startup claims wastage of less than 5 percent in its supply chain compared to average wastage of 50 percent in fruits and vegetables in the country.

Last year, the technology-based agricultural supply chain firm had raised Rs 9.5 crore ($1.5 million) in seed funding from Mukul Singhal and Rohit Jain, former Principals at SAIF Partners, who invested through their fund Pravega Ventures.

By Jeet