Tiger Global-Backed Ninjacart Launches $25Mn Agri Seed Fund To Back Agritech Startups

Agritech startup Ninjacart has 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. 

This development follows a day after Thirukumaran Nagarajan, cofounder and CEO at Ninjacart invited agritech startups to connect for funding in a LinkedIn post. In the post, he had said that Ninjacart will seed fund startups in a matter of just two days.

“Two calls – First call for screening and second for evaluation – 2 days from the first call flat to get a yes or no from us,” he wrote there.

The announcement comes as part of the agritech platform’s larger effort to accelerate the development of the agritech ecosystem.

Speaking on the development, Nagarajan told Inc42, “Joining forces with Ninjacart will open windows for emerging enterprises allowing them to access valuable data, supply chain infrastructure, technology, farmers, and existing partners. The startups will be introduced to VCs, angel investors, and incubators. The procedure would be simple, allowing early-stage entrepreneurs to turn their concepts into concrete action on the ground.”

According to Ninjacart, it will make seed investments in startups that present “unique, sustainable and tech-enabled solutions.”

Ninjacart will further invest in teams that have great tech abilities but are lacking a solution or an idea currently.

The startup hopes to push innovation with the funding and will back ideas and models that can offer ‘high-priority solutions’ in the global agricultural ecosystem.

Ninjacart will also provide access to its technology infrastructure and data pools to the startup it funds, along with giving growth-stage advisory support to the companies, as it said.

Nagarajan further added, “By assisting the next generation of entrepreneurs and small businesses, it is our endeavour to grow together, building a future that is sustainable and built on a strong foundation of productive collaboration.”

The startup also has plans to ramp up its own technology operations. Recently, it was part of India’s largest agritech deal, when Walmart-backed Flipkart infused $150 Mn in the startup, valuing the Tiger Global-backed startup between $700 Mn and $800 Mn.

These investments have broadened Ninjacart’s goal of creating a digital agri-ecosystem, allowing all agri-players, including farmers, resellers, retailers, consumers, and supply chain participants, to buy and sell fresh produce in a transparent manner.

According to Inc42 Plus, 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.