Fasal cultivates future of horticulture value chain with INR 100 Cr Series-A funding

BENGALURU, 15 January 2024: India's full-stack horticulture pioneer Fasal announced that it has raised INR 100 crores in its Series-A funding round led by TDK Ventures and British International Investment (BII), the United Kingdom's development finance institution and impact investor, with contribution from ITI Growth Opportunities Fund, Navam Capital and Aureolis Ventures.

The round also saw participation from all existing investors including 3one4 Capital, Omnivore, Wavemaker Partners, Genting Ventures, and The Yield Labs Asia Pacific.

This financing round provides further ammunition to the company in its mission to transform the USD 228 billion Indian horticulture industry with its full-stack platform anchored on top of its patented Internet of Things (IoT)-crop intelligence technology and expand further to South East Asia.

Since the commercialization of its technology, Fasal has worked with horticulture farmers spanning more than 75,000+ acres growing crops like grapes, pomegranates, bananas, apples, chilli, cardamom, etc. by enabling them to grow more and grow better with its patented IoT-crop intelligence technology. Fasal's farmers have reduced irrigation water consumption by 82.8 billion litres, pesticide reduction by 127,426 kg, curbed GHG emissions by 54,965 MT, and have increased their yields and quality by up to 30% with the help of technology. Fasal has gone deeper into the value chain by building technology to predict the exact harvesting time, yield, and tentative quality and is utilising this intelligence to bring this sustainably grown, traceable, and high-quality produce to the consumers via its B2B brand 'Fasal Fresh'. 

The company highlights that its technology platform has a traceable supply of over half a billion USD worth of produce, connecting seamlessly with demand across various consumption markets in the supply chain, ensuring 10x more efficient procurement thereby reducing wastages significantly. This technology platform empowers the company to synchronize supply with the most appropriate demand directly at the farm gate, before the harvest itself.

 

Shailendra Tiwari, Founder/CEO of Fasal, mentioned "We are delighted to welcome our new investors to the Fasal Family, with TDK Ventures and British International Investments (BII) co-leading this round. Their participation strongly validates the depth of innovation in our patented IoT-crop intelligence technology and its impact on making the horticulture value chain resilient to climate change and carbon-negative. We extend our gratitude to our existing investors for their unwavering faith and support as we reform the horticulture ecosystem. With this capital infusion, we plan to expand Fasal's presence from 75,000 acres to 500,000 acres and enable our technology to deliver more to our farmers by providing them access to sustainable crop inputs, farm-level crop insurance, and working capital at lower interest rates. We will provide our buyers with sustainably grown, high quality, and traceable horticulture produce by further diversifying and strengthening our B2B brand 'Fasal Fresh'.

In the race towards global food system resilience, we acknowledge our responsibility, and drawing confidence from our successful track record in India, we are excited to play a pivotal role in it."

Ananda Verma, Founder of Fasal, added "With this funding, we're on the brink of a technological revolution in horticulture. As the driving force behind our innovation, I perceive this as venturing into new frontiers, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in horticulture. These funds will amplify our exclusive farm IoT-Crop intelligence technology, reshaping the farming landscape. We envision a data driven behavioral change where each byte contributes to sculpting the future of agriculture. We're not just enhancing crops; we're orchestrating a symphony of innovation in the very roots of agriculture. From predicting optimal harvest times to establishing a sustainable, traceable supply chain, this investment propels us into a future where science, technology, and agriculture seamlessly intertwine. It's not just a financial boost; it's the catalyst for a technological metamorphosis that will redefine how we perceive, practice, and sustain horticulture in the digital age."

Emphasizing the crucial role of climate-smart solutions in empowering horticulture farmers to tackle the adverse impacts of climate change, Srini Nagarajan, Managing Director, and Head of Asia for BII, added "Providing climate finance is a core part of BII's strategy in India and SouthEast Asia. By supporting the development of Fasal's climate-smart solutions, we will be able to reach more smallholder horticulture farmers, helping them become more resilient to the impact of climate change which is greatly affecting the agriculture sector. We are impressed by how Fasal has contributed to water conservation and greenhouse gasses reduction, as this will ultimately help achieve our planet's sustainability goals."

Siddharth Mehta, Investment Director, TDK Ventures commented on the alignment, "Meeting the horticulture farmers and learning about their core problems, convinced me that Fasal's full stack approach of combining sensors and technology with marketplace offers a strong value proposition of improving farmer earnings with a strong sustainable impact. We were driven towards Fasal's leadership teams' passion to address the critical needs of the horticulture market, execution capabilities and strong technology focus. It's a pleasure to support them in their journey and we look forward to partnering with Fasal to build an equal win partnership to bring a positive change to the society."