Bengaluru-based agritech company Ergos has raised $10 million through a combination of equity and debt as part of its Series B round led by Abler Nordic, a Norway-based financial inclusion fund, and existing investors Aavishkaar Capital, Chiratae Ventures, and Trifecta Venture Debt Fund.
The company empowers farmers to convert their grains into tradable digital assets and earn more by selling produce at optimal times post-harvest. It links farmers to markets and safe grain storage in warehouses and facilitates access to affordable finance through partner lenders.
The company also gives marginal farmers access to storage services for 8-9 months after the harvest, following which they can access credit for up to 70% of their stored and digitised grain through an end-to-end digital process with affordable interest rates from banking partners.
Ergos supports over 1,60,000 farmers on its platform and has a physical network of farmgate-based warehouses, branded ‘Grainbank’, in over 200 locations across Bihar, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
“There is a pressing need to revitalise agriculture by empowering farmers and catering to their needs at the farmgate. Ergos’s comprehensive Grainbank platform enables farmers to take optimal decisions on sales/storage of their produce, access credit from banks as well as competitive prices through planned liquidations, and access to a wide spectrum of buyers,” said Kishor Jha, Founder and CEO at Ergos.
“We intend to further deepen our presence amongst the farming community even whilst we rapidly scale our operation,” he added.
“Our investment in Ergos demonstrates Abler Nordic’s approach of investing in a wide range of innovative, inclusive solutions that help build financial and climate resilience. Ergos is helping solve the problem that many farmers in India increasingly face–produce spoiling due to lack of access to quality storage, affecting both the farmers’ income and general food security,” said Arthur Sletteberg, Managing Director, Abler Nordic.
Edited by Swetha Kannan
