Agritech firm Ergos, based in Bengaluru, has successfully secured $10 million in a Series B funding round, with Abler Nordic, a financial inclusion fund hailing from Norway with a focus on African and Asian markets, taking the lead. Existing investors, namely Aavishkaar Capital, Chiratae Ventures, and Trifecta Venture, also contributed to the funding.
Ergos disclosed that this funding was a combination of equity ($7 million) and debt ($3 million) financing. The company operates using a farm-gate centered Grainbank model, which empowers farmers to transform their grains into tradable assets. This allows them to access credit from non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and banks, while securing better prices for their agricultural produce. Moreover, Ergos provides end-to-end solutions for the post-harvest supply chain through the application of technology.
According to the company, it currently serves more than 160,000 farmers on its platform, boasting a physical network of Grainbank-branded farm-gate warehouses spanning over 200 locations across the states of Bihar, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. Over the years, Ergos has played a pivotal role in helping farmers boost their annual income by 30-35%.
Although the exact valuation of Ergos following the Series B round remains undisclosed, the company was last valued at approximately $60 million during its Series A funding, which amounted to INR 55 crore in February 2021.
According to data from TheKredible, Ergos has raised approximately $22 million in total funding to date, excluding the Series B round. The company’s existing investors include British International Investment, Chiratae Ventures, Aavishkaar Capital, and others.
In fiscal year 2022, the company reported a significant 3.3X surge in revenue from operations, reaching INR 134.6 crore from INR 40.81 crore in the previous fiscal year. On a similar trajectory, the company’s losses increased to INR 23 crore in fiscal year 2022 from INR 5.8 crore in fiscal year 2021. The financila staements for the fiscal year 2023. are not yet filed.
It’s worth noting that the agritech sector has seen a sharp decline in venture capital investments. Entrackr’s data reveals that, in 2023 so far, only 20 agritech startups managed to secure around $53 million in funding, whereas in 2022 and 2021, agritech startups received funding of $773 million and $636 million, respectively.
