29/10/2018 – NinjaCart, a farm produce delivery platform is currently in advanced talks to raise between US$20 to US$25 million from existing Accel Partners and new investors.
According to sources close to the development, the new funding round will be led by Accel Partners and welcome at least one new investor on board.
Existing investors of NinjaCart include Singapore’s M&SPartners, Qualcomm Ventures, and Nandan Nilekani’s NRJN Trust and Mistletoe.
The agri marketing platform previously raised US$1 million in venture debt from Trifecta Capital in March 2018. To date, the startup has raised a total of US$13.6 million over three funding rounds.
Operated by Bengaluru-based 63Ideas Infolabs Pvt Ltd, NinjaCart runs a logistic network that enables the swift pickup and drop of farm produce, which connects farmers to end retailers including supermarkets, restaurants, and grocery store that purchase fruits and vegetables.
The platform was set up in 2015 by the six founding members of Thirukumaran Nagarajan, Ashutosh Vikram, Kartheeswaran K.K., Sachin Jose, and Sharath Loganathan, who have worked in companies like TaxiForSure, Ola, Verizon, and Commonfloor.
It started as an on-demand grocery delivery service and later pivoted to a business-to-business agri-marketing platform. NinjaCart’s low-cost sourcing and delivery operations handle more than 60 tonnes of produce every day.
There are usually three or four layers of agents, dealers and distributors between farmers and the farm inputs they want to buy. NinjaCart’s model eliminates various middlemen in the sourcing process. The startup claims to help farmers realize 20 percent more revenue than the existing market.
