Origo Commodities India Pvt. Ltd, a post-harvest supply-chain finance and logistics company, has raised Rs 48.5 crore ($6.8 million at current exchange rate) in funding from a clutch of investors.
Zurich-based asset manager responsAbility, the Netherlands’ Oikocredit and India’s IndusInd Bank participated in the funding exercise, Gurugram-based Origo said in a statement.
It said it will use the funds it has raised to increase its distribution networks in rural India. The funding will also help Origo to provide capital to small and medium agricultural enterprises.
“We cover multiple aspects of rural India including agriculture, dairy and micro businesses. With these investments, we hope to gain further inroads and provide stronger solutions across many more locations,” Origo chief executive Venkatram Reddy said.
ResponsAbility head of agriculture debt Suhasini Singh said the investment in Origo was in line with the firm’s developmental strategy of strengthening agricultural value chains by providing efficient post-harvesting solutions and financing.
“The vision of Origo aligns well with the livelihood finance agenda of the bank,” IndusInd’s head of inclusive banking group Srinivas Bonam said.
Origo was set up in 2010 by Mayank Dhanuka and Sunoor Kaul. It has a presence across 12 states and around 1,800 employees. It operates through Origo Commodities and Origo Finance -- the latter offers warehouse receipt finance, procurement finance, MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) finance, and more.
In October last year, Origo raised Rs 80 crore (around $11 million) from social-impact investors in the company's first round of institutional funding. Investors in that round included Oikocredit, Caspian and Hivos-Triodos Fund. At the time, Origo said it would use the investment to strengthen its financing and logistics solutions.