Bengaluru-headquartered ruraltech startup has raised $10 million in a round led by global investors Dr Cornelius (Conny) Boersch, Founder of Conny & Co., a serial entrepreneur and one of Europe’s most active business angels; Singaporean angel investor Koh Boon Hwee; along with Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Co-founder of Venture Catalysts and 9 Unicorns; and Ramit Mittal of Bharti Family, as well as other Indian and international investors.
Felix advisory acted as financial advisor for the round.
FAARMS said it will use the capital to expand its geographical footprint in India, scale up its supply and distribution channels, recruitment, and advancing its technological infrastructure.
Speaking about the new development, Taranbir Singh and Alok Duggal, Co-founders, FAARMS, stated, “Our goal is to create the ultimate digital platform enabling seamless, profitable, and effective functioning of rural households so as to improve their incomes and standards of living”.
“Our recent studies across multiple states covering more than 200 villages have shown higher double-digit growth in disposable income by using quality agri inputs. We are working towards doubling farm income along with other multiple stakeholders,” he added.
“The funds will mostly be used to expand our presence to 12 states across the country. We currently operate in over 50,000 villages in some of the most important agricultural states, and plan to expand to 100,000 villages by the end of 2022. Our goal is to consistently provide innovative solutions to the farming community across rural supply chain. These funds will be used to catalyse our expansion to newer regions and deepening across existing markets”.
The startup recently partnered with Bharat BillPay to create a marketplace for farmers across India to manage recurring payments such as water, gas, electricity bills, loan repayments, insurance premium payments, and secure products such as seeds, cattle feeds, and farming equipment delivered directly to their doorstep utilising the FAARMS-owned and operated logistics network.
Serial entrepreneur and business angel, Dr Cornelius (Conny) Boersch, said, “I have invested in more than 400 startups globally, but I have never seen a company with a higher market potential than FAARMS. It comes at a perfect time. The Indian agricultural market is a blue ocean and ripe for disruption. Rural parts of the country are significantly underserved–not just in India but in South Asia as a whole. FAARMS’ impressive growth shows that it has hit a nerve. I’m very excited about the future of the company as the team continues to scale the business and execute on its mission to better the lives of the rural community in India and beyond.”
“This additional funding is just the beginning towards expanding its network and making quality services accessible to a larger section of the population in the farming belts of India,” added Koh Boon Hwee.
