Ninjacart, a fresh produce supply chain business based in Bengaluru, announced on Friday that it had put aside $25 million to invest in new agricultural technology firms. According to Ninjacart, its Agri Seed Fund will make seed investments in companies and entrepreneurs “proposing one-of-a-kind, long-term, and tech-enabled solutions.
As shown in a press release from the company, “Ninjacart will also engage in teams with excellent technical talents but no solution or idea.” Joining forces with Ninjacart will bring crucial data, delivery network structure, technology, farmers, and current partners to expanding firms,” said
Thirukumuran Nagarajan, the company’s founder, and CEO. The procedure would be simple, enabling market leadership to put their concepts into reality. The seed fund was established after Myntra and its parent company Walmart announced a $145 million yearly investment in December. On December 13th, ET was the first to report on the deal. At the time, the largest deal in the agri-tech market, according to the e-commerce company.
Since its inception in 2015, Ninjacart has been available in seven Indian cities: Bengaluru; Chennai; Hyderabad; Pune; Delhi; and Mumbai. The group purchases fruits and vegetables directly from farmers and then distributes them to customers on a daily basis.
The corporation stated that it will continue to invest in its technology.
In a press release, Walmart and Flipkart’s investments have widened the company’s goal of “creating a digital agro – based” that “allows all ag players,” from farmers to resellers-sellers, to work together. supply chain respondents, to transparently buy and sell fresh produce.”
Flipcart invest in Agri-tech Ninjacart
Walmart Inc. and Flipkart Group, both located in the United States, announced a $145 million investment in agritech startup Ninjacart on Monday. Ninjacart, a local produce supply chain company, is Flipkart’s third investment.
Ninjacart’s journey toward building technology and infrastructure to organize, empower, and enhance the lives of millions of Agri value chain participants, including farmers, resellers, retailers, consumers.
Ninjacart’s aim to give improved access to high-quality fresh fruit and vegetables for consumers is further validated and strengthened by the USD 145 million investment from Flipkart and Walmart, according to a statement from the companies more economic prospects and higher wages for Indian farmers,” according to the report.
Walmart and Flipkart Group invested an undisclosed sum of money in the Bengaluru-based startup in October 2020.
In addition to the venture capital firms Accel and Qualcomm Ventures in the U.S. and HR Capital in Russia, other investors include Mistletoe and Nandan Nilekani’s NRJN Trust. Neoplux is the venture arm of Doosan Corp. in South Korea.
Thirukumaran Nagarajan, Kartheeswaran K K, Ashutosh Vikram, Sharath Loganathan, and Vasudevan Chinnathambi developed Ninjacart in 2015. In addition to Tiger Global and Tanglin, the company has received investments from Syngenta, Nath Nilekani, and Qualcomm amongst others.
Flipkart’s investment and cooperation in Ninjacart over the years, he noted, is a tribute to the company’s continuous commitment and success in the effort to develop a democratic and organized agriculture market.
There are already 1,800 cities and towns in India where Flipkart sells groceries. By the middle of next year, Flipkart plans to add 2,000 more cities and towns to this list. The company will invest in technology to supply the ultimate consumer with the best and most severe quality control for fresh fruits and vegetables as part of the expansion.
Flipkart is also aiming to make the community e-grocery purchasing concept more efficient. Farmers will benefit from the company’s increasing focus on collaborating with Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to provide access to high-quality fresh fruit, staples, pulses, and spices, as well as new revenue prospects.
Ninjacart works directly with farmers and has helped over a million farmers in 150 communities boost their revenue.
India is on the cusp of formalizing the farm industry, thanks to increased road connections, GST, easy payments, digital infrastructure, and other variables.” This presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restructure our agro-ecosystem environment.
The cash will be used to establish world-class teams, as well as scalable digital tools to organize and grow the network, according to him.
Ninjacart and the Union Department of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare inked an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) earlier this year to increase market linkages and promote best practices in the farming sector. Ninjacart’s role is to create and host the Agri Marketplace Platform (AMP), which will help farmers to get a fair price for their goods while also providing better food for consumers and value to all stakeholders.
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