Agri-tech platform DeHaat raises $12-million Series A round funding

DeHaat, an agri-tech platform that helps farmers obtain agri inputs and financial products and services, and provide their develop, has lifted $12 million (₹83 crore) in a Series A round funding led by Sequoia India and FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial advancement bank. Present buyers Omnivore and AgFunder also participated in the most up-to-date round of funding.

Shashank Kumar, co-founder and CEO of DeHaat, stated the organization programs to use the money to reinforce its presence in States these types of as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal, the place it at present operates, and also to broaden to more recent locations, mostly in North India. “We are hunting at expanding our presence to Rajasthan on a pilot basis this calendar year,” Kumar informed BusinessLine.

DeHaat at present operates about 443 retail centres in jap India, enabling about two.one lakh farmers to obtain around three,000 agri inputs and customised crop advisory. It also delivers current market linkages to these farmers to provide their develop these types of as corn, wheat, rice, fruits and vegetables, by connecting with around two hundred commodity bulk customers, including retail chains, e-commerce gamers, FMCG providers and SME food stuff processors.

“We system to maximize our retail centres to about two,000 and provide about a million farmers by June 2021,” Kumar stated.

DeHaat will use some of the new funding to automate its offer chain and make the next layer of data analytics to generate additional offer chain efficiency. “Sequoia’s deep knowledge in B2B platforms and know-how merchandise, mixed with FMO’s knowledge in agricultural worth chain financing, will support DeHaat accelerate its growth although delivering significant impact for the farmers we operate with,” Kumar added.

Previously funding rounds

DeHaat before lifted a $four-million (₹29 crore) pre-Series A round in March 2019, led by Omnivore and AgFunder, which was topped up in Could 2019 with an supplemental $three million (₹20 crore) of venture credit card debt from Trifecta Funds.

“Indian agriculture is a $350-billion business powered by close to 100 million little and impartial farmers. This business is on the brink of a significant transformation with simplicity of regulation, farmers finding organised and increasing smartphone penetration and DeHaat is leveraging these traits to make the next-gen product or service in agricultural offer chain,” stated Abhishek Mohan, VP, Sequoia Funds India LLP.

Jaap Reinking, Director – Private Equity at FMO, stated: “Increasing financial uncertainty owing to the Covid-19 pandemic is a grave issue to all. Especially in these hard times, it is important to keep on our aid for innovative organizations in rising marketplaces, and aim on accelerating sustainable advancement.”