Grow Indigo Bags $10 Mn To Boost Its Sustainable Agri Offerings

Agritech startup Grow Indigo has secured a strategic investment of $10 Mn (around INR 85.7 Cr) from British International Investment (BII).

The Mumbai-based startup plans to deploy the fresh proceeds to expand its sustainability programmes and scale up carbon farming initiative.

“With this funding, we will accelerate farmer enrollment and scale carbon farming initiatives,” said Usha Zehr, executive director at Grow Indigo.

Founded as a joint venture between US-based Indigo Ag and Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Co) in 2018, Grow Indigo offers sustainable solutions to boost farmers’ income, enhance product quality and reduce resource wastage. 

Its solution suite includes seed treatment products, supplements for soil health and crop protection and micronutrients. Besides, the venture also assists its partner farmers with expert guidance and modern farming practices regarding carbon farming. 

The company also leverages robust measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems to help farmers in keeping a track of their sustainable solutions.

Grow Indigo claims to have more than 2.5 Mn acres of farmland across 16 states enrolled under its programs.  

In January last year, the venture raised $8 Mn as a part of a strategic funding round from its parent entities.

On the financial front, the company net loss surged 32.5% to INR 23.17 Cr in the financial year ending in March 2024 (FY24) from INR 15.63 in the previous year.

Meanwhile, its operating revenue also declined to INR 191.88 Cr in the fiscal under review from INR 332.20 in FY23

A Shot In The Arm For Agritech Startups: India’s agritech ecosystem has rolled out various helpful systems that makes a farmers’ life easier, focusing on four major areas such as supply chain efficiency, market inputs, access to the market and mitigation of risks and climate change impact. From AI-powered solutions to precision farming and data-driven innovations, agritech startups are playing a crucial role to disrupt India’s agricultural landscape.

In an effort to support agritech and rural area-focussed startups, the Centre launched an INR 750 Cr ‘AgriSURE’ fund (Agri Fund for Start-ups & Rural Enterprises) last year.

This SEBI -registered Category II alternative investment fund (AIF) aims at supporting the agritech startups with both – equity and debt funding.

Around the same time, the union cabinet approved the ‘Digital Agriculture Mission’ scheme with an outlay of INR 2,817 Cr to boost the country’s agriculture with three digital public infrastructures (DPIs) — Agristack, Krishi Decision Support System, and Soil Profile Mapping.

Under this scheme, the government plans to leverage solutions like soil profile mapping, digital crop estimation, digital yield modelling, crop loan, and AI to unfold sustainability in agriculture.

Along with the government’s effort, some promising agritech startups are driving innovation and paving the way for a more efficient, sustainable, and productive agricultural ecosystem. This is also attracting a lot of investors to bet on the sector.

The Indian startup ecosystem has some notable agritech startups, including AgroStar, Fasal, CropIn, Dehaat, Ergos, Ninjacart, Waycool, FarMart, and Gramophone, which are leveraging technology to enhance the quality of India’s agriculture space.

For instance, recently, agritech startup Fambo secured INR 21 Cr (around $2.4 Mn) in a seed funding round to establish an export vertical, invest in technology and grow its network of partner farms. 

In January, omnichannel agritech startup KisanKonnect also bagged $4.5 Mn (around INR 39 Cr) in a Series A funding round to strengthen its tech infrastructure and leverage AI in farm sourcing and supply chain.

As per Statista, the Indian agriculture market is projected to be valued at $530.88 Bn in 2025 and $598.72 Bn in 2029.