E-commerce major Flipkart India and its US-based parent Walmart have announced a $145 million joint strategic investment in agritech start-up Ninjacart.
Ninjacart connects farmers directly with retailers, restaurants, and service providers. Currently, the company's supply chain is believed to be capable of transporting veggies and fruits from farmers to retailers and enterprises across seven cities in less than 12 hours every day. Earlier in 2019, Walmart and Flipkart made an undisclosed investment in Ninjacart, which will be followed by another $30 million investment in 2020.
Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO of Flipkart Group said "As a homegrown firm, we have constantly focused on establishing the necessary infrastructure and technological solutions to help local farmers, producers, and food processors. We are able to improve our grocery footprint and offering with this investment, as consumers throughout the country throng to e-grocery seeking quality and affordable alternatives in the fresh category. We are able to provide enormous efficiency in the value chain and make an effect by providing more options for greater revenue to the agricultural community through technology. At Flipkart, we are well positioned and dedicated to developing a sustainable environment for fresh produce while also uplifting the communities associated with it."
Expansion
Flipkart now delivers groceries in 1,800 cities and towns and intends to increase this service to 2,000 more towns by mid-next year.
Fresh fruits and vegetables will be an important component of the expansion, with the firm investing in technology to assure the most stringent quality checks for the end consumer.
Flipkart is also aiming to improve the community e-grocery shopping platform. The firm has increased its emphasis on collaborating with farmer producer organizations to provide access to fresh produce, staples, pulses, and spices, as well as new revenue opportunities to farmer communities.
Ninjacart Co-Founder and CEO Thirukumaran Nagarajan stated "Thanks to our employees, farmers, retailers, and all ecosystem players. The funds will allow us to go beyond organizing the farmer-to-retailer ecosystem to a far wider objective of coordinating the entire agri ecosystem and allowing transparent commerce. With the advent of better road connectivity, GST, streamlined payments, digital infrastructure, and other initiatives, India is on the cusp of formalizing the agriculture industry. This provides an unprecedented opportunity to structure our agri ecosystem landscape. We are investing in this enormous opportunity to create value. The funding will be used to establish world-class teams as well as scalable tech platforms to organize and grow the network."
Over the last two years, Ninjacart has made major investments in technology platforms and supply chain infrastructure.
The firm claims to have worked with over one lakh farmers in 150 villages to increase revenue. Ninjacart inked an MoU with the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare earlier this year to develop market links and promote best practices in the farming sector. Ninjacart's mission is to construct and host the Agri Marketplace Platform (AMP), which will allow farmers to earn a fair price for their produce, provide better food to customers, and provide value to all players.
