AGRIM, a B2B platform for agri-inputs announced on Thursday that it has raised $10 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Kalaari Capital, with participation from existing investors Omnivore, India Quotient, and Accion Venture Labs. Axis Bank also joined the round as part of their Bharat Banking initiative.
AGRIM is building digital platform for the $50 billion Indian agri-inputs industry by connecting retailers directly with manufacturers to providesolutions for distribution, credit, logistics, and marketing. Currently AGRIM works across agri-input categories, including seeds, fertiliser, crop protection, animal nutrition, and farm implements in 500 districts with over 2,500 manufacturers and 1.7 lakh retailers on the platform.
AGRIM plans to use this funding for talent acquisition, embedded fintech product development, and scaling up operations.
“In the last 15 months, we have achieved product-market fit. This investment will help us expand exponentially into new categories and geographies. Given the unit-level profitability, most funds will be used to bring rock stars onboard and launch embedded fintech services for our retailers,” said Mukul Garg, Co-Founder and CEO of AGRIM.
Stock keeping
The start-up expects to clock annualised GMV (gross merchandise value) of $100 million in 2022. AGRIM plans to increase stock-keeping units by ten times to reach 250,000 SKUs across agri-input categories, providing retailers with a vast selection on the platform. As agri-input retailers and manufacturers suffer from steep working capital requirements, AGRIM will soon be launching financial services to ease their burden while ensuring optimum stocking, the company said in a statement.
Based in Gurgaon, AGRIM was founded in April 2020 by serial entrepreneurs and IIT Kharagpur alumni Mukul Garg and Avi Jain.
Vamshi Krishna Reddy, the Partner at Kalaari Capital, said, “We, at Kalaari, are excited about playing a role in AGRIM’s vision of transforming the agri-input retail market in India. The founding team’s deep expertise and clarity of thought, along with their strong focus on unit-level profitability, resonated with us. AGRIM’s goal of building a strong, tech-enabled ecosystem for small retailers of crucial agricultural supplies can transform the way agri-inputs are sourced across the country while ensuring better quality and access to products for agri-based communities”.
Munish Sharda, the Group Executive & Head of Bharat Banking at Axis Bank,said, “Axis Bank is focused on creating a distinctive ‘Bharat Bank’ unit with tailored products and processes for rural segments. We are aiming for increased footfall through branches as well as a digital presence, and partnerships with players focused on delivering solutions to these segments. Investment in AGRIM is aligned to our Bharat Banking strategy and we look forward to building a strong partnership by providing suitable banking products and services to their customers.”