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HomePosts Tagged "Aavishkaar Capital"
Company News, Finance, Horticulture, India, Start ups

This is the first investment from Aavishkaar Capital’s USD 250 Million “ESG First Fund”.

ESG First Fund, managed by Aavishkaar Capital (Aavishkaar), an Aavishkaar Group company and a global pioneer in taking an entrepreneurship-based approach to scaling businesses for impact, and set up in partnership with KfW, a German state-owned development bank, announced their first investment of Rs 16 Crores (1.95 million USD) from the ESG First Fund into INI Farms.

ESG First Fund is a USD 250 Mn fund focused on investing in Asia and Africa with the mandate of generating superior Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) outcomes and commercially viable financial returns alongside positive social impact. The Fund was established with the primary objective of improving these areas especially along the supply chains serving the European markets.

Founded in 2009, by Purnima and Pankaj Khandelwal, INI Farms is a leading exporter of fruit and vegetable crops with large-scale pan-India operations spanning contract farming, aggregation, supply chain management and are serving food retailers globally.

Purnima Khandelwal, CEO & Co-founder, INI Farms said, “The agriculture story in India is poised for a multi-fold growth. We believe that large platforms providing end-to-end services to the farmers from advisory and inputs to output offtake is going to drive this transformation. This investment will provide us with a great opportunity to grow multi-fold with expansion into the entire agriculture output business and leveraging our strong supply chain capabilities.”

Commenting on the investment, Abhishek Mittal, Partner- Credit – Aavishkaar Capital said, “We are excited to invest in INI Farms and support them in their next phase of growth as it expands its product offering and geographical reach. INI’s Farms continued commitment to deliver export-quality fruits & vegetables produced in an environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive manner and to exacting global standards, sets it apart to meet the growing demands of today’s conscientious consumer. INI along with Agrostar, is well placed to meet the demands of global markets while empowering farmer at the back-end”.

Stephanie Lindemann-Kohrs, Director Global Equity and Funds, KFW said “We at KfW are acting on behalf of the German Government in this Fund-Investment. Main objective of the initiation of this Fund is to improve the environmental and social standards, especially the working standards upstream to the European supply chain. German and European citizens want to purchase products which are produced in fair working conditions and are adhering good environmental and social standards. The Funds investment procedure follows a proper environmental and social due diligence, which sets uplifted standards for its investees. In that way we believe INI farms will demonstrate as a beacon the positive outcome of ESG adherence with improved business opportunities with Europe.”

This is the first investment from Aavishkaar

Agrotech, Company News, Finance, India, People, Supply Chain, Sustainability

ERGOS’ credit product is the first of its kind in India that provides tailor-made credit solutions to small and medium-scale farmers and buyers through data-backed technology

ERGOS, India’s leading farmer-centric technology platform, announced that it has enabled its lending partners to achieve disbursement of over Rs 100 crore to small and medium-scale farmers and buyers. This milestone has been achieved through the recent launch of ERGOS’ credit product for the farming community which has enabled thousands of farmers in 3 different states in India to access institutional credit.

ERGOS backed by Aavishkaar Capital, Chiratae Ventures and British International Investment enables farmers to digitise their farm produce and provides them with doorstep access to end-to-end postharvest supply chain solutions.

ERGOS’ credit product is the first of its kind in India that provides tailor-made credit solutions to small and medium-scale farmers and buyers through data-backed technology. Unlike conventional loan options, ERGOS’ platform allows farmers and buyers to access asset-backed low-cost credit irrespective of their socio-economic background or limited credit history. The product leverages data-driven insights and a unique risk-scoring matrix that is based on the farmer’s field profiling, crop pattern, the value of their produce digitised and performance patterns of the crops that are being cultivated by the farmers.

Umesh Gowda, CTO, said “The impact of ERGOS’ GrainBank platform is unprecedented. We have been able to convince farmers to adopt mobile-driven technology and engage in transactions using bank accounts electronically as against cash, which also helps farmers to improve their credit score as we had zero defaulters and 100 per cent of loans are being closed on time. This milestone not only sets a benchmark for helping small farmers gain access to credit at competitive rates but also paves the way for a more inclusive and transparent financial system by leveraging technology at farmgate. ”

 Kishor Jha, Founder and CEO of the company, said “Our vision for the future of agriculture revolves around creating sustainable farming solutions that promote growth and ensure a financially secure future for farmers. We are dedicated to bringing digital technologies to the forefront of the agriculture industry for a more secure farm future. The ERGOS’ platform is well-equipped to serve farmers all across the country. With a presence in over 50 plus districts and partnerships with banks and local institutions, the company is confident of growing 3x in FY24 and building an annual disbursal book of Rs 5,000 crore by FY28.”

Ajay Maniar, Partner at Aavishkaar Capital said, “The leadership team at Ergos has continued to build and execute on their vision of creating Ergos as a ‘farmer first’ Grainbank that allows a farmer to store their grains safely, avail instant financing against their stored stock and discover the best market price for their produce, all facilitated via few clicks on the Ergos App. The company has successfully demonstrated its model across multiple geographies and is now well positioned to replicate and scale its model across India whilst creating significant value for the underserved farmer community”

ERGOS’ credit product is the first of