Bangalore-based Ninjacart, an agri-marketing platform that connects farmers with retailers, has announced that it has raised US$35 million (₹250 crore) in series B round of funding from venture capital firms Accel Partners (US), Switzerland-based Syngenta Ventures and Neoplux, a South Korean private equity firm.
The other investors which also contributed in this round include Jo Hirao, founder of ZIGExN, HR Capital and Trifecta Capital. Ninjacart's existing investors Accel India, Nandan Nilekani, Mistletoe and Qualcomm Ventures also participated in this round.
The company said it would use the funding to expand to new geographies, strengthen product and technology teams and invest in bettering the supply chain infrastructure. Ninjacart aims to expand to over 10 cities and open more than 200 distribution centres across India and scale hiring and onboarding talent in the near future.
So far, Ninjacart has raised a total of $49 million in funding over five rounds.
Founded in 2015, by Ashutosh Vikram, Kartheeswaran K K, Sharath Loganathan, Thirukumaran Nagarajan and Vasu Devan, Ninjacart connect vegetables and fruits farmers directly with businesses. At one end, it helps farmers get better prices and ensure consistent demand and on other end, it also helps retailers source fresh vegetables at competitive prices directly from farmers.
Initially started as an on-demand grocery delivery service, the startup changed its business model to a business-to-business agri-marketing platform. Earlier this year, it piloted a business-to-consumer model (franchised and owned) and now plans to focus on acquiring new markets.
Speaking on latest funding, Thirukumaran Nagarajan, CEO & Co-founder of Ninjacart, said, "This is a huge validation of Ninjacart’s business model, our relentless focus on solving India’s Agri-marketing problem and the team’s execution capabilities. We are thrilled to have a new set of global investors who can amplify our vision. Our focus will be on expanding to new markets and continue to innovate on behalf of our farmers and customers — and this will come from continued investments in talent, technology and supply chain infrastructure."
The startup currently operates in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai with a team of 750+ passionate individuals. It has a sourcing network of 3000+ farmers across south India and moves fresh produce from farm to 4000+ retailers in less than 12 hours on a daily basis.
[Top mage - Facebook.com/Nijacart]
The other investors which also contributed in this round include Jo Hirao, founder of ZIGExN, HR Capital and Trifecta Capital. Ninjacart's existing investors Accel India, Nandan Nilekani, Mistletoe and Qualcomm Ventures also participated in this round.
The company said it would use the funding to expand to new geographies, strengthen product and technology teams and invest in bettering the supply chain infrastructure. Ninjacart aims to expand to over 10 cities and open more than 200 distribution centres across India and scale hiring and onboarding talent in the near future.
So far, Ninjacart has raised a total of $49 million in funding over five rounds.
Founded in 2015, by Ashutosh Vikram, Kartheeswaran K K, Sharath Loganathan, Thirukumaran Nagarajan and Vasu Devan, Ninjacart connect vegetables and fruits farmers directly with businesses. At one end, it helps farmers get better prices and ensure consistent demand and on other end, it also helps retailers source fresh vegetables at competitive prices directly from farmers.
Initially started as an on-demand grocery delivery service, the startup changed its business model to a business-to-business agri-marketing platform. Earlier this year, it piloted a business-to-consumer model (franchised and owned) and now plans to focus on acquiring new markets.
Speaking on latest funding, Thirukumaran Nagarajan, CEO & Co-founder of Ninjacart, said, "This is a huge validation of Ninjacart’s business model, our relentless focus on solving India’s Agri-marketing problem and the team’s execution capabilities. We are thrilled to have a new set of global investors who can amplify our vision. Our focus will be on expanding to new markets and continue to innovate on behalf of our farmers and customers — and this will come from continued investments in talent, technology and supply chain infrastructure."
The startup currently operates in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai with a team of 750+ passionate individuals. It has a sourcing network of 3000+ farmers across south India and moves fresh produce from farm to 4000+ retailers in less than 12 hours on a daily basis.
[Top mage - Facebook.com/Nijacart]
Advertisements