Beleaf raises $6.9m to expand farming-as-a-service model

Beleaf founder and CEO Amrit Lakhiani / Photo credit: Beleaf

Though much of its land is fit for agriculture, farming in Indonesia is highly fragmented. More than 70% of the country’s farmers are smallholders who lack access to financing, technology, logistics, and efficient go-to-market support.

Indonesian startup Beleaf Farms is betting on providing farming as a service (FaaS) to address those issues. It’s building an integrated platform to give farmers access to input and technology as well as to help connect farms with agronomists and retailers.

Being powered by big data and IoT, the company says its services have helped partner farms increase yield by 15%.

Funding details

• Funding amount: $6,850,000
• Lead investor: Alpha JWC Ventures
• Other investor: Openspace Ventures (NSI Ventures)
• Stage: Series A
• Source

Established by Amrit Lakhiani in 2019, Beleaf was originally building a hydroponic brand of leafy greens before expanding to sell other farming products and eventually venturing into the FaaS model, which is free and exclusive to the firm’s partners.

The startup sells the output from its FaaS program – which includes leafy greens and root vegetables – across four countries. Its products are available in over 180 retail outlets in Greater Jakarta, eight online channels, and several restaurants. In May 2023 alone, the firm said it distributed 700 tons of produce.

With its latest funding round, Beleaf Farms wants to enter another six countries by the end of 2024. It also aims to expand within Indonesia, specifically to Bali, Lembang, and Medan, where it will set up research and development farms. The company wants to onboard at least 2,000 farmers to use its network by next year.

Indonesia has become a hotspot for agritech in Southeast Asia. Most notably, eFishery was crowned Indonesia’s latest unicorn after completing its US$200 million series D round last month.

See also: Mapping Indonesia’s key agritech players (update)

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