Pune-based agricultural inputs company, AgroStar has raised Rs 24cr (US$3.7 million) in a second round of fundraising led by venture capital firm, IDG Ventures India and with participation from existing investor, Aavishkaar Venture Management.

 

AgroStar was founded in April 2013 by brothers, Shardul and Sitanshu Sheth, who were previously involved in the manufacturing and distribution of organic plant nutrients and fertilizers, but they quickly realized the unrealized opportunities presented within the Indian agricultural supply chain. With this funding the brothers aim to establish a ‘one stop shop’ within the $40 billion agri-inputs space to service the country’s farmers.

 

“We understood then what the pain points for farmers are, how what they wanted was not available.” said Shardul Sheth.

 

Originally AgroStar began offering information on an on-call basis to farmers, expanding its services from 100 calls per week to more than 15,000 per month, which it plans to grow to exceed 50,000 per month within the next 12 to 18 months.

 

AgroStar plans to sell seeds, crop protection products, nutrients, and farming hardware with a delivery time of between five and seven days from date of order. The company also has a mobile app in the pipeline, and plans to allocate some of the funds to expanding its geographic presence from Gujarat to include Maharashtra, Rahsthan, and Madhya Pradesh, building warehouses in each state.

 

“Agriculture supply chain is a large market which has not been disrupted for generations,” said TCM Sundaram, MD and co-founder of IDG Venture India. “The inefficiencies in the system are widespread and through technology and fair pricing, it is possible to create a big business here.”