SUMMARY
The amount was funded by Ankur Capital, Omnivore and multiple angel investors
Agrizy will use the funding to strengthen teams, develop a digital product suite and increase customer traction
India has a total of more than 1,200 agritech startups, with an addressable market worth $24.1 Bn by 2025
Agrizy, a Bengaluru-based agritech startup has raised $4 Mn in seed funding led by Ankur Capital, with participation from Omnivore and angel investors Rajesh Yabaji (CEO, BlackBuck), Zetwerk’s cofounders Srinath Ramakkrushnan, Amrit Acharya, Rahul Sharma, and Vishal Chaudhary among others.
Ankur Capital invested in Agrizy via its India Pitch Fest program marking its first investment. The cohort had more than 50 shortlisted startups out of a total of 500.
According to the startup, it will use the funds to develop its business and engineering teams. It will also invest funds in developing a digital services suite for processed agri marketplace and increase customer traction.
Vicky Dodani, cofounder, Agrizy, said, “The recent round of funding from two notable funds investing in agritech reinvigorates our vision of transforming the processed agri supply chain.”
Founded in September 2021 by Vicky Dodani and Saket Chirania, Agrizy is developing a platform to bridge the processed agri supply chain.
Agrizy claims to connect the processors with potential buyers dealing in non-perishable farm products across both food and non-food categories such as oilseeds, cereals, pulses, jute, and others. The agritech startup aims to support agricultural processors with digital solutions and its own logistic partners to facilitate trade.
According to Agrizy, the value of foodgrains production in India will reach close to $500 Bn by 2025. However, the industry’s structure and immediate supply chain remain largely unorganised, with 2.5 Mn units employing 7 Mn people across the country.
The startup looks to capture value in this segment, as logistics for agricultural trade remains largely disaggregated, and is largely dependent on middlemen and last-minute fulfilment.
Agrizy has said that it is focusing on these value chains and building a platform that will streamline transactions between aggregators, FPOs, farmers, and processors, including the facilitation of formal credit for these small businesses.
Saket Chirania, cofounder, Agrizy, added, “There is a lot of untapped potential in the way agri processing units can leverage technology to grow and thrive. Agrizy offers solutions across digital vendor management, and supply and value chain automation to its Agri Processing Units. We are sustainably growing our business by 100% MOM from inception.”
India has more than 1,200 post POC agritech startups building solutions for farmers’ issues. The government’s recognition of agritech is a paradigm shift for the policy formulation in the sector with innovations at the epicentre.
According to the Inc42 Plus report, India’s addressable agritech market potential is expected to reach $24.1 Bn by 2025. So far, Indian startups have tapped into only $204 Mn, or 1% in 2020.
Recently, Indian grain commerce startup Arya.ag raised $60 Mn Series C funding in a mix of equity and debt financing led by Asia Impact SA, Lightrock India and Quona Capital. Also, B2B agritech startup AGRIM raised $10 Mn in Series A funding.
Even Indian agritech startups are working towards facilitating early-stage startups in the segment. Last month, Ninjacart announced a $25 Mn fund to back similar category startups. Dubbed as Agri Seed Fund, the investment plan will fund such startups by participating in the seed funding rounds.
