Mumbai-based INI Farms, a leading player in India’s banana and pomegranate export business, is looking to scale up its operations and expand into other fruit categories, after clinching R20 crores (US$3.3m) in funding from Aspada Investment Company.
Backed by the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), Aspada is an active investor in India, with investments across a range of sectors.
“We look forward to working with the Aspada team given their significant experience in investing in India's supply chain and agricultural logistics sectors, said Pankaj Khandelwal, chairman and managing director of INI Farms. “Aspada's investment will allow us to continue to build scale in the pomegranate and banana business units while expanding into other fruit categories.”
INI provides farm extension services to smallholder farmers as well as post-harvest management for both domestic consumption and export markets. The company ships to 19 different countries across Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia. The latest round of funding, which follows two previous venture investments, is set to extend the company’s supply network.
'Over the next 24 months, we will be expanding our sourcing belts by expanding into adjoining regions of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, while also bolstering farm extension activities and augmenting processing capabilities so as to work with many more small-hold producers to enable market linkages for their produce,' said Purnima Khandelwal, chief executive officer of INI Farms.
Kartik Srivatsa, managing partner of Aspada Investment Advisors, added: 'We are partnering with an exceptional team that brings significant management experience in India's fruit value chains. We believe that there is a significant opportunity to organize India's fresh fruit supply chains and deliver quality products directly from farm gate to shelf that are traceable, and safe.'
Founded in 2007 with angel investors Ashish Gupta and Pawan Vaish seeding the company, INI Farms received close to US$1m in funding from venture capital company Aavishkaar in 2011. In 2012, INI secured another round of funding, which saw Unilazer Ventures and Aavishkaar investing Rs20 crores (US$3.3m) to secure a 45 per cent stake in the company.
INI Farms has focused heavily on compliance with domestic and international food safety standards and is amongst the first Indian companies with social compliance certifications. Ashwin Raghuwanshi, the company's president for arils and quality, is speaking at Fresh Produce India on 23-25 April 2015 in Mumbai. See www.freshproduceindia.com/conference-info/Programme2015 for more information.
