Jaipur-based agricultural machinery maker Balwaan Krishi has raised Rs 100 crore ($10.4 million) in a Series B round led by First Bridge India Growth Fund Private Equity, a Category-II, India-focussed, growth-oriented PE vehicle.
The round also saw participation from undisclosed institutional investors.
The latest transaction takes Balwaan Krishi's disclosed institutional funding to at least Rs 156 crore, excluding any undisclosed debt or other investments.
The round follows a Rs 40 crore investment from JM Financial Private Equity in June 2024 through its third fund, JM Financial India Growth Fund III. Before that, Balwaan raised $2 million in a pre-Series A round in 2023 led by Caspian Equity's agriculture-focussed Caspian Leap for Agriculture Fund, along with angel investors, including Deepak Agarwal, Rishab Jain and Pulkit Bachhawat.
Founded in 2016 by Rohit Bajaj and Shubham Bajaj, Balwaan Krishi provides farm equipment aimed at improving mechanisation among small and marginal farmers. Its product portfolio includes power weeders, sprayers and other agricultural machinery.
The company operates a hybrid business-to-business and business-to-consumer distribution model, with more than 800 dealers across northern India and a growing e-commerce presence. Its equipment is priced between Rs 10,000 and Rs 1 lakh.
The firm plans to use the fresh capital to expand manufacturing, strengthen its dealer and after-sales service network in southern India and develop next-generation farm equipment with predictive maintenance and Internet-of-Things (IoT) capabilities. Balwaan Krishi said more than 4 lakh farmers currently use its equipment.
The company is targeting small and marginal farmers, who account for around 86% of India's farmers cultivating less than 2 hectares, according to Balwaan Krishi. The company said its focus on relatively affordable equipment is aimed at addressing the limited economic viability of large machinery for this segment.
The latest transaction was advised by investment banking firm Right Pillar Advisors.
