[Funding alert] Flipkart and Walmart jointly invest in Ninjacart

Ninjacart, the Bengaluru-headquartered B2B agritech startup, has received a big boost with global retail giant Walmart and India’s leading ecommerce marketplace Flipkart announcing an undisclosed joint investment into the firm.

This latest investment into Ninjacart comes after this agritech startup received a $100 million fund infusion from Tiger Global in April this year.

A press release issued by Flipkart and Walmart said, “Partnering with Ninjacart will help Walmart and Flipkart strengthen direct sourcing of fresh produce for Walmart India’s Best Price B2B cash-and-carry stores and Flipkart’s online grocery business Supermart.”

Ninjacart's other investors include Accel, Steadview Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, and Nandan Nilekani.

Thirukumaran Nagarajan, CEO and Co-founder of Ninjacart, said,

“Ninjacart wants to make food safer and more accessible, while ensuring a fair price for everyone involved. We are excited that Flipkart and Walmart are joining us to make this vision a reality and showing confidence in our technology and business model. With their support, we see new possibilities to improve the lives of our farmers, retailers and restaurant partners.”

ALSO READ

[Watch] Ninjacart Co-founder Thiru chalks out his journey in inventing the wheel for fresh produce ecommerce

Founded in 2015 by Thirukumaran Nagarajan, Kartheeswaran K K, Ashutosh Vikram, Sharath Loganathan and Vasudevan Chinnathambi, Ninjacart delivers over 1,400 tonnes of fruits and vegetables sourced from more than 44,000 farmers to 60,000 kirana stores and restaurants across seven cities.

On the investment made into Ninjacart, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Group, said,

“As a homegrown ecommerce company, it is in our DNA to drive change and solve complex local problems in-house through technology. Developing Flipkart Supermart over the past year, we have focussed on creating the right infrastructure, supporting local farmers, producers, and food processors, and building sustainability into the ecosystem, all while creating thousands of new jobs and bringing quality, convenience and value to consumers. In Ninjacart, we see a company that shares our values, our pioneering mindset and our commitment to tech-driven innovation that improves life in India.”

Leveraging in-house built supply chain technology, Ninjacart has created a network of more than 200 collection and 1,200 warehouses. Along with this, the startup has also ensured that there is almost negligible error in the entire transaction process from the farmers to the retail stores.

Under this agreement, which is expected to close by the end of this year, Walmart, Flipkart, and Ninjacart will ensure that there is better access to high-quality fresh produce for the retailers and consumers while it also creates more economic opportunities for the farmers.

Krish Iyer, President and CEO, Walmart India said, “Our new partnership with Ninjacart will help us create more opportunities for smallholder farmers and boost rural incomes while also improving access to high-quality produce for all our members including kiranas, hotels, restaurants and businesses around India.”

(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)

ALSO READ

[Funding alert] Flipkart picks up minority stake in Shadowfax to expand hyperlocal delivery capabilities