Arise backs Indonesian agritech startup’s seed round

Agriaku, an Indonesian-based agritech startup, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding led by Arise, a collaborative fund from MDI Ventures and Finch Capital.

Photo credit: gexphos / 123RF

MDI Ventures and Wright Partners also joined the startup’s cap table.

With the new funds, Agriaku plans to ramp up the number of farmers on its network.

Founded in May by Irvan Kolonas and Danny Handoko, Agriaku seeks to offer full-stack agriculture services for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and farmers in Indonesia.

According to the startup, the problems that these farmers and SMBs face primarily revolve around the supply chain, which leads to a lack of data insights for decision-making, as well as limited knowledge on financing capabilities.

Agriaku is creating a transparent network between all relevant stakeholders by creating an ecosystem, aiming to improve the industry that contributes to 13.5% of Indonesia’s gross domestic product.

See also: The key players in Indonesia’s promising agritech space

“Our approach of empowering local Toko Tanis (agri stores) as our last mile agents to distribute a full stack of product and services for smallholder farmers in Indonesia has the potential to disrupt an industry that so far has been resistant to change,” said Kolonas, who also serves as the company’s president.