Villgro announces Rs 4 crore investments through iPitch fund at Unconvention 2019

Social enterprise incubator Villgro announced its investees for its iPitch fund, at Villgro’s annual ‘Unconvention’ conference held on Friday.

This year, iPitch has facilitated funding of over Rs 4 crore for innovative startups across the agribusiness, health, and renewable energy domains.

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Villgro India was the lead investor for startups in the health sector, focusing on tech-backed solutions that can provide assistance to persons with disabilities. BeAble Health, a manufacturer of rehabilitation and medical devices, received Rs 25 lakh. Flexmotiv Technologies, which creates anti-slip, all-terrain crutches, received Rs 25 lakh as well.

Paul Basil, Founder and CEO, Villgro, said in a statement:

“The amount of funding offered to these disruptive early-stage startups through iPitch is truly a cause for celebration. We need more such startups that solve real problems and hold the potential to truly revolutionise the startup landscape of the country. On our part, we will continue to empower such paradigm-shifting startups with funding, mentoring, go-to-market strategies, and much more to steer them towards resounding success.”

In partnership with Hindustan Unilever Foundation (HUF), Villgro has funded four startups dedicated to water conservation and management in agriculture. Kritsnam Technologies, which is building IoT-based, data-driven water management solutions, received Rs 50 lakh.

Oscillo Machines, which is working on building farm equipment that address various challenges in the sector, bagged Rs 30 lakh. Its first product is an electric paddy seedling transplanter for use in traditional, small fields.

Cultyvate, which integrates IoT, artificial intelligence, remote sensing, and machine learning to create smart irrigation services and improve crop yield, received Rs 50 lakh. Urdhvam has been awarded Rs 30 lakh for its innovative BoreCharger, a robotic drill that helps rejuvenate dried borewells.

Further, Villgro USA is actively considering an additional two investments, which are expected to be closed out in the near future. Existing Villgro incubatee, Lal10, which offers mobile handheld CRMs and helps thousands of artisans to connect with global inventors, received $100,000 from Upaya Social Ventures and Beyond Capital Fund. Villgro has also announced an investment of Rs 65 lakh in Ameliorate Biotech, along with SINE, IIT Bombay.

(Edited by Athirupa Geetha Manichandar)

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