Jiva grows revenue 62% in 2023, plants seeds for profit

Jiva AG, the agritech startup backed by food and agri business Olam Group – itself 51% owned by Temasek – grew its revenue by 62% year on year in 2023, reaching the nine-figure top-line milestone.

Meanwhile, its losses for the year rose by just 2%, narrowing the net loss margin from -30.9% in 2022 to -19.5% in 2023.

Helping farmers with data

Jiva is headquartered in Singapore. However, its operations center around Indonesia and India, two of the three largest producers of vegetables in Asia.

The startup was founded in 2020 by Ramanarayanan Mahadevan – who also serves as its CEO – and Seamus Tardif, the company’s head of growth.

It aims to help farmers in these countries connect directly with buyers, increase crop yield, and access credit. The firm also provides farmers with data-driven insights on crop selection, planting techniques, and pest management.

In addition, the company offers a platform for crop collectors to sell their inventories directly to factories and offer input – the resources that are used during the process of farm production – directly to farmers.

Photo credit: Jiva

Jiva is tapping into a large opportunity in Asia’s agricultural sector, as the region’s agrifood consumption is expected to grow by over 45% between 2020 and 2050.

Other companies present in the space, including Arya.ag and DeHaat, are also demonstrating the ability to improve bottom lines. The former logged a 36% boost in profits for its 2024 financial year, while the latter
halved its losses even as it grew revenue by 40% in FY 2024.

According to its website, Jiva has more than 100,000 transacting farmers in its network and has facilitated the sale of around 700,000 tonnes of crops.

See also: Indian agritech firm plows into profits with retail investor backing

The company tells Tech in Asia that its growth in 2023 was due to a combination of geographic expansion, service extensions, improved partner network performance, and overall network growth.

This included expanding its footprint from two to five provinces in Indonesia, where it now covers “most of the key agricultural areas.”

Jiva also says it expanded its services along two verticals: support for additional crops as well as new partner types. For the latter, the company launched a new arm in 2023 that caters to village-level retailers, onboarding 1,000 for the year.

‘Critical enablers’