Farmers’ e-marketplace to be expanded
In a funding round led by Z3Partners, Gramophone, an agri-tech platform that offers end-to-end crop management solutions, raised about *75 crore ($10 million).
In addition to InfoEdge, Asha Impact and Siana Capital, new investors include Amit Sharma, Sumeet Kanwar from Verity, and the Chona Family Office (Havmor Group).
Expanding Startup Footprint
Founder and CEO Tauseef Khansaid said Gramophone would use the proceeds to expand, market, develop technology, and perform mergers and acquisitions.
IIT and IIM alumni Tauseef Khan, Nishant Vats Mahatre, and Harshit Gupta founded the firm to provide an agronomy-based electronic marketplace to help farmers procure necessary inputs for farming and sell their crops. So far, it has raised about 130 crore.
“Through this investment, we will focus on investing in technologies that decrease costs, improve transparency, and empower local agri entrepreneurs with earning opportunities in rural areas,” he said.
The space was unorganised, but standalone services such as warehousing, inventory management, and call centers were available. “We provide all the products and services they need for their farming,” he said.
Its e-commerce platform offers gronomy services, inputs, and output products in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
By roping in OEMs that make inputs and other products for farmers, the firm is expanding the scope of the e-marketplace.
About 10 lakh farmers have used the start-up’s technology-based solutions. The adoption of technology solutions has shifted dramatically in the new age of farming, he said.