Agrowave, an agricultural technology startup, has raised $2 million in pre-Series A funding from Aroa Ventures, the family office of Oyo founder Ritesh Agarwal. Anu Meena founded the Gurugram-based startup in 2017 with the goal of developing a farm-to-market mobility supply chain with a focus on first-mile logistics and trade supply via an integrated network of 'mobile pickup stations' placed at farm gates to procure products directly from farmers.
It also intends to use the funds to expand its team, scale operations, and build 40,000 MPSs in order to achieve a monthly GMV of INR 100 Cr.
According to its December 2021 records, Agrowave currently has a GMV of INR 15 Cr and a merchandise volume of approximately 8000 tonnes, with operations in over 150 villages. It accomplishes this with a current network of over 3000 MPSs.
"As I grew older, I witnessed the difficulties that my grandfather, a farmer, faced." Since then, my mission has been to find solutions to the problems that farmers all over India face. AGROWAVE is developing solutions that will allow farmers to sell their produce directly from their farm gates in just a few clicks. This funding will allow us to expand our farmer network, increase transparency in the value chain, and, most importantly, improve farmers' livelihoods," said Anu Meena, founder of Agrowave.
According to the ICAR-Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering & Technology (CIPHET), Indian farmers lose INR 1 lakh Cr worth of food each year- 6% of cereals, 8% of pulses, 10% of oilseeds, and 15% of fruits and vegetables. These losses occur between the farm and the retail level and can be reduced through proper post-harvest management of agricultural produce.
According to an Inc42 Plus report, India's addressable agritech market potential is expected to reach $24.1 Bn by 2025, with Indian startups having so far only tapped into $204 Mn, or 1% of the market in 2020.
"Small and marginal farmers are the backbone of this country, constituting the vast majority of farmers." In this sector, innovation and technological shifts are critical to ensuring access to the best markets and prices. "We are thrilled to be partnering with Agrowave in their mission to empower farmers," said Gaurav Gulati, CEO, and CIO of Aroa Ventures.
Unnati Agri, an agri-fintech startup, raised INR 60 crore in a Series A funding round led by Incofin Investment Management, NabVantures, and Orios in November.
FarMart, another B2B agritech startup, raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by Matrix Partners India last year.
