FreshoKartz Agri Products Pvt Ltd, which operates data insights and input-sales agricultural-technology firm Freshokartz, has raised $1.4 million (Rs 10.3 crore) in a pre-Series A fundraising exercise.
The round in Jaipur-based Freshokartz has seen participation from investors including Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund (RVCF) and Achieving Women’s Equity (AWE) Funds, the company said in a statement.
RVCF, which was set up in 2002, has operated three funds according to its website. Contributors to these vehicles have included the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), and the United Kingdom’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
AWE says it is an early-growth equity fund that invests in firms and enterprises seeking to promote gender equity. It makes bets across the pre-Series A and Series A stages in sectors such as agri-tech, health, education, and sustainability.
Freshokartz was set up in 2016 by Rajendra Lora and Chandrakanta. It says its platform provides a full stack of technology-enabled services to small and marginal farmers. These include crop advisor, agricultural inputs, output linkages, crop insurance, and financing.
It also operates network-based or digitised physical kiosks at the village level, through which it can deliver services. The company will use the capital it has raised to finance the rollout of its technology while scaling its operations in Rajasthan and neighbouring states.
“We found Freshokartz’s focus on appropriate and adaptable farmer-centric technology, especially on the downstream input side of the supply chain, to be a very compelling investment thesis,” AWE Funds founder and managing partner Seema Chaturvedi said.
“Add to the fact that the main beneficiaries are marginal farmers of whom 70% are women. This makes the investment very much aligned with our gender-focused mandate at AWE,” she added.
Freshokartz says it is currently operating 40 physical centres and is working with over 90,000 farmers. It is targeting a reach of one million farmers within the next 12-15 months. Some of the inputs companies it is working with include UPL and Chambal Fertilisers.
