Egreens launches $2.1m fund for early-stage agritech startups in India

Egreens, an agricultural tech firm, has launched a fund worth 150 million rupees (US$2.1 million) for early-stage agritech startups in India.

Photo credit: Sompong Sriphet / 123rf

Anchored by undisclosed investors, the new fund will focus on providing seed capital to startups that use business models across the entire value chain of food production, storage, and transportation. Startups that provide market linkages, use AI and machine learning in farming practices, and implement internet of things across the supply chain are eligible for the fund.

Egreens operates its own in-house food retail brand called VegEase, which uses advanced supply logistics to send carts carrying fresh fruits and vegetables to customers at a time convenient to them. These carts allow customers to handpick products through the platform.

The company has already invested 150 million rupees (US$2.1 million) in VegEase, which has generated a turnover of 7 million rupees (US$95,800) and drawn 5,000 customers in New Delhi as of April 2021.

“The agricultural supply chain in India is very fragmented, with last mile delivery being almost missing,” said Mayank Chaurasia, founder and CEO of Egreens. “We are looking at exciting startups that will eventually create forward and backward integration with VegEase.”

The fresh funds will also be used to help VegEase venture into the business-to-business and B2B2C segments.