[Funding alert] Agritech startup Freshokartz raises $150,000 in pre-Series A round from Innovana ThinkLab

Jaipur-based agritech startup, Freshokartz, recently said that it has raised $150,000 (or Rs 1 crore) as a part of its pre-Series A round, from Jaipur-based NSE-listed company, Innovana ThinkLab Ltd. 

The startup will be using the fund to expand its operation to newer districts in Rajasthan. Additionally, the company will also be investing the fund to expand its technology team and build a CRM application for its stakeholders.

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The company states that it is looking to manage all its centres through its mobile app and the CRM software.

Founded in 2016 by Rajendra Lora, the agritech startup provides agricultural inputs to farmers through all crop cycles and claims to augment their income by 50 percent.

Apart from soil data-based crop and fertiliser recommendations, Freshokartz also delivers quality seeds, pesticides, and fertilisers through its network of physical centres. It is targeting one centre for every 10,000 farming population.

The platform has 75 centres including 45 farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and has around 90,000 farmers on its network.

Speaking on the revenue generation, Rajendra Lora, Co-founder and CEO of Freshokartz, said,

“Freshokartz charges Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 annually per farmer as a subscription fee which includes - one soil test, unlimited call centre support, and field visit at farmer's doorstep. We have farm management software through which we take care of the whole crop cycle data like sowing date, fertiliser date, and pesticides date. This helps us to keep track of the data and guide these farmers at a micro-level. For subscribed farmers, we help them to market their products/output. Our field executives also use the mobile app to map the data.”

Every month, the startup manages about 20,000 farmers and is active in several districts of Rajasthan including Jaipur, Alwar, Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Sikar, etc. 

The founder further states that the startup will be reaching 100 physical centres next month, and will be clocking more than Rs 25 crore in annual recurring revenue. 

“We are doing partnerships with governments and NGOs who work closely with the farmers. Our main target is to explore more FPOs so that we can provide more services to them. We are also exploring tie-ups with fintechs who can provide loans to the farmers through financial institutions. We are also tying up with new precision agriculture tech provider companies, whom we can help in reaching to the farmers,” Rajendra adds. 

Currently, Freshokartz has clocked more than Rs 4 crore in revenue in FY19 alone. Further, the startup added that it has been operationally profitable since last year.

(Edited by Suman Singh)

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