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HomePosts Tagged "Managing Partner at Omnivore"
Agribusiness, Company News, Finance, Funding, India, Start ups

The company plans to utilise the investment to enhance its technological capabilities and extend its operations nationwide.

Ayekart, a leading agrifood fintech platform, has raised USD 6.5 Million (Rs 53 Crore) in a Series A round led by Omnivore, Siana Capital and Unleash Capital. With this capital infusion, Ayekart aims to expand its operations nationwide and cater to a larger audience of FPOs (Farmer Producer Organizations), food manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.

Founded in December 2020, Ayekart launched its commercial operations in September 2021 with a team of six and has since expanded into a team of over 150 members across six locations. The startup provides fintech and supply chain solutions for traditional businesses in the agrifood value chain, boosting efficiency and convenience while preserving trust within the ecosystem. Ayekart today operates in 18 states, has over 9,000 active merchants on its platform, and has successfully facilitated more than 2.5 lakh transactions with over INR 21 billion lifetime GTV (Gross Traded Value). Moreover, Ayekart has been consistently profitable since inception, setting it apart from other agritech companies.

Debarshi Dutta, Co-Founder & CEO of Ayekart, stated, “Since the inception, our unwavering commitment to positively impact the lives of smallholder farmers, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and agrifood MSMEs across India has been the cornerstone of our journey. We understand the critical pain points that agrifood MSMEs face- the need for market linkages, access to finance, and an efficient technology ecosystem to enhance their businesses. To address these challenges, we have developed innovative fintech solutions tailored to empower FPOs and agrifood MSMEs. Ayekart is not just addressing gaps in the value chain but also driving meaningful change that empowers agrifood MSMEs and fosters sustainable growth across the value chain.”

Commenting on the round, Jinesh Shah, Managing Partner at Omnivore, said, “We are pleased to support Ayekart’s efforts in improving farmers’ lives and providing financial stability. Ayekart’s focus on empowering agrifood MSMEs with its cutting-edge technological approach resonates deeply with our investment philosophy. We are confident that this capital infusion will propel Ayekart’s advancement, stimulating noteworthy progress in both the agricultural and supply chain spheres.”

Sohil Shah, Founder & Partner at UNLEASH Capital Partners, stated, “We are proud to be part of Ayekart’s Series A funding, helping to leverage technology for enhanced financial solutions in the B2B supply chain. This investment is an important long-term step in helping Ayekart fulfill its mission to strengthen its market position and continue delivering value to its stakeholders and customers.”

Unitus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to the company for the transaction.

The company plans to utilise the investment

Agribusiness, Company News, Finance, Funding, India

The startup is building a B2B insurance distribution and servicing platform for institutions working with the underserved, including NBFCs, MFIs, BC networks, Nidhi companies, cooperatives, NGOs, and FPOs.

Finhaat, an insurance platform for India’s emerging segments, announced today that it has raised USD 3 million in Seed funding. Omnivore led the round with participation from Kettleborough VC. Through its proprietary distribution infrastructure, the startup provides digital insurance services to underserved groups, including rural communities and middle and low-income populations in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

Finhaat began operations in June 2022 with insurance as their first product vertical. The startup is building a B2B insurance distribution and servicing platform for institutions working with the underserved, including NBFCs, MFIs, BC networks, Nidhi companies, cooperatives, NGOs, and FPOs. With its tech-driven approach, Finhaat has created a suite of unique APIs custom-built for the target segments for instant policy issuance and seamless end-to-end claims process to democratize insurance and reach more customers. Furthermore, Finhaat’s SaaS-based digital platform provides partner institutions with ease of implementation and customer servicing.

Based out of Mumbai, Finhaat was founded in 2021 by Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) graduates and financial services veterans Sandeep Katiyar, Navneet Shrivastava and Vinod Singh. Sandeep began his career at ICICI Bank and later served as Chief Financial Officer at Arya Collateral. He also has an executive MBA from Harvard Business School. Navneet brings over two decades of experience with insurance giants, including Birla Sun Life, Future Generali and Aditya Birla Health. As for Vinod, he managed various banking verticals at HSBC, where he also established their NBFC arm before heading wealth lending at Avendus.

Vinod Singh, Co-founder of Finhaat, commented, “We are happy to have Omnivore’s support in our journey. The firm’s support validates our commitment to using technology to increase access and efficiency of essential financial services for rural India. Our operations already cover over 65 percent of pin codes in India. With this round, we hope to expand further by building robust technological models, enriching product experience, introducing innovative products, enhancing our partner base and hiring resources for new verticals. We are determined to transform the financial services space for the underserved.”

Jinesh Shah, Managing Partner at Omnivore, observed, “Financial inclusion remains dismally low in rural India – just 11.5% of households have net savings, and under 10% have life insurance. This vulnerability is most acute in low-income segments, especially for farmers confronting myriad risks. Yet, tailored products to mitigate uncertainties and boost financial stability and growth are few and far between. Finhaat is transforming this landscape, and we are excited to support its mission of improving financial access and resilience for the millions left behind by formal systems.”

The startup is building a B2B insurance

Agrotech, Company News, Finance, India, Start ups, Sustainability

The startup uses lignocellulosic agricultural residues as their raw material to produce advanced materials as alternatives to unsustainable incumbents.

Biomaterials startup altM announced that it has raised a USD 3.5 million Seed round led by Omnivore. Other investors include Theia Ventures, Thai Wah Ventures, Sanjiv Rangrass, Neha Mudaliar, Maninder Gulati from OYO, Mirik Gogri from Spectrum Impact, and Paula Mariwala from Aureolis Ventures.

altM is Omnivore’s first investment from its third fund, which recently had a first close at USD 150 million. This is also the firm’s fourth investment under its OmniX Bio initiative, which was setup in 2021 to back early-stage agrifood life science startups. 

altM aims to develop and manufacture scalable biomaterials to help large industries reduce their carbon footprints across their supply chains. The startup uses lignocellulosic agricultural residues as their raw material to produce advanced materials as alternatives to unsustainable incumbents. Given its sustainability potential and functional properties, lignocellulosic biomass offers a unique technological appeal to form a family of materials. 

altM, which is based in Bengaluru, was founded in 2022 by Apoorv Garg and Yugal Raj Jain, who met while working at Tesla in the US. Before altM, Apoorv served in supply chain and engineering leadership roles at Prometheus Fuels, Tesla, and Maruti Suzuki. He is an alumnus of the University of California, Berkeley (M.Eng.) and Delhi College of Engineering (B.Tech.). Yugal earlier worked at Tesla in engineering leadership roles, managing several factory and product launches. He is an alumnus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.Eng.) and Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (B.E.). The team also includes Dr. Harshad Velankar with over 20 years of academic and industrial experience across India, the US, and South Africa. He previously led bioprocess research at HPCL, with prior stints at Praj Industries and Reliance Life Sciences. 

Apoorv Garg, CEO and Co-Founder at altM, said, “The scale-up of a technology from a laboratory bench to commercial production is not a trivial undertaking. Production scale-up is often the death valley for biotech startups. Our focus on go-to-market strategy, execution, and production scale-up will be the differentiator to most endeavors we see in the world of biomaterials today.”

Mark Kahn, Managing Partner at Omnivore, said, “With Apoorv and Yugal’s background in manufacturing excellence, altM’s entry into industrial alternative materials will hasten the global shift towards sustainability and circularity. Omnivore is very excited to be a part of their journey as we kick off our new fund.”

The startup uses lignocellulosic agricultural residues as

Company News, Finance, India, Start ups

Omnivore expects to make 25-30 new investments in Seed and Series A rounds of agritech startups, with initial cheque sizes ranging between $1 million and $5 million.

 Impact venture capital firm Omnivore is pleased to announce the first close of its third fund at $ 150 million. The Omnivore Agritech & Climate Sustainability Fund, which was launched in April 2022, will continue focusing on startups developing breakthrough technologies for agriculture, food, climate, and the rural economy.  First close investors include KfW, the Self-Reliant India (SRI) Fund, FMO, SIFEM, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Inclusive Agritech Facility, Louis Dreyfus Company Ventures, the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF), the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), and Yara Growth Ventures.

With their third fund, Omnivore expects to make 25-30 new investments in Seed and Series A rounds of agritech startups and MSMEs, with initial cheque sizes ranging between $ 1 million and $ 5 million.  Key themes for new investments include agrifood life sciences, rural fintech, and climate-smart agriculture.

Over the past year, Omnivore has exited two agritech startups, delivering strong returns to its investors.  In July 2022, Omnivore sold its stake in aquaculture IoT startup Eruvaka to Nutreco, a global leader in animal nutrition and aquaculture, realizing the largest exit in Indian agritech to date.  Later, in March 2023, Omnivore sold its stake in precision sprayer manufacturer MITRA to farm machinery giant Mahindra.

According to Mark Kahn, Managing Partner at Omnivore, “The greatest risk and opportunity for Indian agriculture are the adverse effects of climate change. Our new fund will have a sharper focus on catalyzing climate action in agriculture by funding startups addressing climate mitigation and climate adaptation.”

Jinesh Shah,Managing Partner at Omnivore, noted, “We are grateful to our investors who share Omnivore’s vision of making India an agritech superpower which positively impacts the lives of smallholder farmers globally.”

Omnivore was founded in 2011 by Mark Kahn and Jinesh Shah to fund Indian startups building the future of agriculture and food systems.  Omnivore pioneered agritech investing in India, and over the past decade has backed over 40 startups which are making farming more profitable, resilient, sustainable, and climate-proof.  Omnivore raised $ 82 million for its second fund, which had a final close in April 2019. Some of Omnivore’s portfolio companies include DeHaat, Arya, Stellapps, Reshamandi, Ecozen, Aquaconnect, and Pixxel.

Omnivore expects to make 25-30 new investments