Milk Mantra, a dairy foods company announced that they raised about $10 million in structured debt financing from US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). They have also committed $3,71,000 for technical assistance to support the company’s agriculture extension services and ethical milk sourcing program.
According to a statement released by Milk Mantra, “The main focus of this would be to build out Milk Mantra’s digital financial services platform for its network of farmers. This platform will drive financial inclusion for farmers, especially women farmers.” The country presently counts 100 million dairy farmers in India which has a significant proportion of women.
Founded in 2009 by former director of Tetley, Srikumar Misra and Rashima Misra, Milk Mantra went all out in 2012. The firm’s milk sourcing network has grown over 60,000 farmers. The company said it has scaled its revenue from $2 million in 2012-13 to $32 million in 2019-20, and reaches more than 3 lakh households daily. The company operates in Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand.
Milk Mantra founder Srikumar Misra stated, “At Milk Mantra, we align with DFC’s focus on development impact. We have developed an ethical sourcing model that looks to revitalise rural economies, increase farmers’ yields, and provide farmers, their families, and their communities with growth opportunities while we scale up a mass-premium food brand that’s nourishing the lives of consumer families.“
The firm has raised over $25 million in four funding rounds since its inception from investors like Eight Roads (previously Fidelity Growth Partners), Neev Fund, and Aavishkar VC among others.