– This round of funding led by Vibhor Sahare, CEO & Co-founder ANS Commerce, Real Time Angel Fund and Digital Futuristic Angels Network.
– The funds recently acquired will be employed as a means of expanding the dealership business and improving technology in order to streamline supply channels.
Pune, January 17, 2023: Pune-based start-up Meratractor, a ‘Phygital’ marketplace for farm mechanization products, has secured INR 5Cr. in a pre-series A funding round. This brings the total capital raised to INR 7.25 Cr. The funding round was led by Vibhor Sahare, CEO & Co-founder of ANS Commerce and formerly CEO & Co-founder of Gaadi.com, along with participation from Real Time Angel Fund and Digital Futuristic Angels Network. These funds will be used to expand the dealership network and improve technology for organizing supply channels.
“We liked the holistic ecosystem approach that the MeraTractor team is using to solve structural issues in the used tractor space. It’s a unique niche within the broader agri-tech space that can have a substantial impact in democratising tractor ownership” said the lead investors.
Agritech start-up, MeraTractor is trying to create an entire ecosystem to become a one-stop solution for all stakeholders engaged in the farm mechanization sector. Despite being asset-light, the company, which is a dealer-owned and company-operated model, controls the entire transaction and creates a sustainable business proposition for farmers, dealers, financiers and new tractor OEMs. Its dealership network is based out of rural locations which are slated to eventually become its gateway for tapping into the entire rural business opportunities related to the farm sector.
Commenting on the problem that the start-up is trying to solve, Sajith Abraham, Co-founder, MeraTractor, said, “There has been significant work in crop cultivation, in ensuring better yield, farm-gate solutions and a push from the government to improve farmer income. However, farm mechanization for Indian farmers, of which over 85% are smallholders, has been vastly missed out because of purchase capabilities. This creates challenges starting from discovery, financing facilities, and other key milestones in the process, making it difficult for an unassuming farmer. As a solution, MeraTractor is looking at bridging the gap between a smallholder farmer and access to farm mechanization / financial products.”
Highlighting the opportunities that lay ahead, Monak Gohel, Co-founder, MeraTractor, said, “The farm mechanization sector is on the verge of massive disruption and has created an environment for innovation that will help start-ups like MeraTractor address the inefficiencies in the sector. We believe farm power is an essential input in agriculture; hence, we are excited about the fundraise as it will help us to accelerate our journey in growing the network further by tapping into massive rural business opportunities that lie ahead.”
Some of the marquee investors that participated in the funding round were:
o Gaurav Gupta – CEO, Adani Capital
o Shashank Kumar – Co-founder, Dehaat
o Amrendra Singh – Co-founder, Dehaat
o Avinash Kumar – Founder, Credenc
o Arvind Kumar – Business Head of Agri division at Force Motors and Ex-CEO of Trringo (M&M group company) and Lemkin India.
Meratractor aims to provide farm mechanization products to small and marginal farmers by partnering with rural entrepreneurs in Tier 3 to Tier 6 locations. The company’s business model centers around creating a comprehensive ecosystem that combines physical and digital elements, known as a “Phygital network.” This network assists partner dealers with everything from supplying tractors to generating demand and facilitating sales, as well as providing name transfer documentation and partnering with banking institutions for tractor loans. The start-up generates revenue by adding value at every point of transaction.