Agriculture supply chain and financial services startup Unnati Agri on Wednesday said that it has raised pre-Series B funding of Rs 28.5 crore ($3.5 million) led by the family office of bio-product agri firm IPL Biologicals.
The round also saw existing investors Incofin Investment Management, Nabventure, and Orios Ventures in this round.
The fresh funds will be used to focus on sustainable and climate-ready products.
As part of the deal, Unnati will expand its product line by having a joint go-to-market arrangement with IPL Biologicals, which has a range of patented microbial and biological nutrition, biocontrol and soil and plant stimulants, and other products.
“We are set to expand sustainable product portfolio across India. Through this partnership with IPL Biologicals, we will be able to help farmers adopt better and more sustainable farming practices backed by a range of latest bio-products,” said Ashok Prasad, co-founder of Unnati Agri.
Founded in 2017, Unnati is an agri-focussed fintech platform that aims to minimise the risks involved in farming as well as ensure transparency in the farming business. It provides banking and crop-specific advisory services to farmers.
Unnati is looking to grow by expanding its network to reach more farmers as it targets to serve 5 million farmers, the company said in a release. It currently serves more than 1.2 million farmers through its network of more than 75,000 stores. It will also focus on expanding the suite of services across the supply chain and financial services.
Prior to this, Unnati, which is operated by Akshamaala Solutions Pvt. Ltd, had raised Rs 60 crore in its Series A funding round led by Nabventures and participated by Orios Venture Partners and Incofin Investment Management.
