Rajasthan-based agritech startup Freshokartz has raised Rs 10 crore ($1.4 million) in Pre-Series A funding round from Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund (RVCF) and AWE (Achieving Women Equity) Funds.
Freshokartz was founded in 2016 by Rajendra Lora and Chandrakanta. It provides soil-based crop and fertiliser recommendation to farmers through agronomists and call centres. The startup has opened digitalised physical agri kiosks at the village level to deliver agri advisory, inputs, and collect farmer output through centres or at their doorsteps.
It also facilitates farmers in getting financial aid or insurance through partners. Freshokartz is operating 40 physical centers in Rajasthan and working with more than 90,000 farmers. The startup aims to reach one million farmers in the next 12-15 months.
Rajendra Lora, Founder, said, “Our company has witnessed significant growth even during COVID-19 crisis, which is driven by our team’s differentiated understanding of India’s agricultural supply chain, its markets, and its participants, given our personal farming backgrounds. This helps us execute effectively as an integrated agriculture supply chain company.”
Gaurav Chowdhry, VP at RVCF said, “By focusing on a farmer’s needs, Freshokartz is providing full stack solutions for better farm outcomes. The team has strong execution capabilities and expects to see significant growth in the coming years.”
Seema Chaturvedi, Founder and Managing Partner of AWE Funds said, “At AWE Funds, given our team’s deep agri expertise, we believe that the agritech industry is poised for rapid growth. Furthermore, we found FAPL’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. Added to the fact that the main beneficiaries are marginal farmers of whom 70 percent are women, this investment is very aligned with our gender lens focussed investment mandate in Achieving Women Equity.”
The startup will be using the funds for expansion within Rajasthan and other nearby states like Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and other northern states of India. The funds will also be used in capacity building, tech development, and geographic expansion. It has also developed a mobile app for farmers where they can place orders from nearby centers.