Exciting news- An agritech startup announced funding of whopping USD 117 million
The world is progressing and the traditional agriculture industry is converting into agritech industry.
Let us talk about the agritech industry. Technology has entered one more industry. Can we now really imagine our lives without technology? No, obviously we cannot, because, in some period of time, we will be so used to the comfort of technology that we will be ready to ignore the disadvantages it brings along with itself.
But let us bring our discussion towards the agritech industry.
What is the agritech industry? Agriculture+ Technology= Agritech industry. Agritech is a short form of agricultural technology.
Agritech refers to the usage of technology in the domain of agriculture and other activities related to it like horticulture, aquaculture, and others. This is done with a single motive and an aim to improve efficiency, profitability, and improving the yield.
The population of the world is expected to reach 9.8 billion by the year 2050, and the top point of concern for the world is the security of food.
The other problems which are rising are scarcity of resources, disturbance in the distribution and access, and the urgent need to expand the agricultural output.
Thus policymakers are now looking for methods that are sustainable and use technology in agriculture in order to come out of the crisis.
The agritech startups around the world have raised USD 26.1 billion in the year 2020. This amount of funding is the growth of 35.4% from the previous year, 2019.
The predictions have been made that the agritech market around the world will grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 12.1% between 2020 and 2027.
India as a country is in competition with China and the US in this area.
Coming now to the Indian agritech industry, the agriculture industry of our country is worth USD 370 billion and gives employment to more than 40% of the population. The agricultural industry also holds 19.9% of the GDP of the country.
Even after all this, the Indian agricultural industry is weak and does not show significant growth and productivity.
We need technology in order to help solve these issues and increase the incomes of the farmer. The agriculture of our country is in immediate need of transformation, with modernization helped by technology, some new and powerful reforms.
India as of now has 1300 agritech startups, which are majorly using artificial intelligence, machine learning, internet of things, so that it can increase efficiency and productivity in traditional agriculture.
The states which are serving as a hub for the agritech startups are Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Delhi NCR.
The agritech industry of our country had experienced a growth in the revenue of around 85% during the financial year 2019-2020.
A study was conducted by Ernst and Young in the year 2020, accordingto which the Indian agritech market will reach USD 24 billion by the year 2025, but sadly only 1% of it has been captured till now.
Let us now talk have a discussion on the funding of an agritech startup that has taken place recently.
Announcement of the funding of an agritech startup
The startup, WayCool, has raised funds worth USD 117 million, as announced on January 14, 2022. This round of funding which was conducted was the Series D round of funding. Many new and existing investors participated in this round of funding.
The lists of the investors include LightRock, FMO, Lightmith, IFC, which is a part of the World Bank Group, Gawa Capital, and Redwood Equity Partners.
The startup plans to use the funds raised in accelerating and making use of deep technology and automation in order to increase efficiency many times. This round of funding of the startup has become the biggest agritech round of funding in India till now.
Before this round, the startup DeHaat had the largest round of funding. That round of funding was also the Series D round of funding, where the startup had raised USD 115 million.
Before the current round of funding, WayCool had raised USD 7.8 million, almost one year ago. That round of funding was the debt funding round which was led by RBL Bank, Samunnati, and InnoVen Capital.
The startup at that time had planned to use the funds raised in meeting the needs of working capital and increasing and boosting automation in the already existing distribution centers and warehouses.
About the agritech startup that has announced funding
The startup, WayCool was founded in the year 2015 by Karthik Jayaraman and Sanjay Dasari. The startup is engaged in distributing farm-sourced fruits, vegetables, and other products to various retail outlets.
It is one of the fastest-growing agritech companies in the country, where it is driving social impact while transforming the food economy of the country.
The startup has the aim to build the largest food development and distribution services company in the world and eventually make a positive impact on the lives of 500000 farmers.
The operations of the startup are spread across product sourcing, food processing, branding, and marketing, last-mile distribution, and farm inputs.
The values of the startup are-
Humble– The startup strives to brighten the day of everyone who is involved with it.
From dramatically increasing the income of the farmer to providing the employees with one of the most extensive insurance plans available in India, the startup wants to make everybody’s day a little fresher.
Humane– The startup understands that a healthy planet provides 7 healthy foods. It works hard to ensure that it operates with the future in mind.
From implementing strict water recycling policies in its distribution centers to educating its farmers on sustainable practices, it is driven to keep the Earth green.
Hungry- The startup is driven to use technology to change the world.
From creating groundbreaking software that helps increase the income of the farmers to innovative quality management and food safety technology, WayCool is on the cutting edge of technology in India.
The startup currently handles more than 900 tonnes of food products every day. It has more than 100000 clients, a network of more than 85000 farmers in more than 50 regions of the country. The products of the startup are rice, pulses, wheat flour, and dairy.
The startup has adopted a tech-enabled supply chain approach, where it has merged physical and digital worlds for a “phy-gital” business model. The startup makes use of the robotic automation process, artificial intelligence, and machine learning technologies to provide value to its suppliers and clients.
The startup is definitely offering very different and is helping in solving the major issues of our old agriculture industry. We wish the startup loads of good luck and wish it continues its good work and has a long and bright future full of sucess and achievements.
Edited and published by Ashlyn
