RML AgTech, a start-up focused on providing agricultural support solutions to farmers on mobile phones, has announced that it has raised $4 million from IvyCap Ventures. The funds were secured from the PE firm in multiple tranches for an undisclosed stake in 2016. Earlier, IvyCap had invested more than $2.6 million in the company back in 2013-14.
This fresh capital infusion will enable RML AgTech to strengthen its technology while also adding new products and features to its current arsenal. The company will also focus on further strengthening its team and expanding to new states — Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. It will also spend a chunk of capital on creating tech-focused tools and services to also improve agriculture productivity and profitability.
Commenting on the investment, Vikram Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner at IvyCap Ventures, says,
The agriculture sector in India today stands at an inflection point where food security for future India will be determined. And it is the agri-tech sector that has the potential to address the challenges we face today.
We found the product and strategy model of RML AgTech to principally to address these concerns and hence a huge potential for the time to come.
RML AgTech was launched by Ravi Tevtiya with the aim of providing end-to-end agriculture solutions to farmers using its smartphone app or an SMS on their mobile phones. It also provides them with customized solutions to enhance productivity and earnings for farmers with the digitization of this age-old practice. The company plans to enable farmers to make critical decisions using their analytical tools.
This is, according to their belief, a major step towards modernisation of agriculture practices. It will make it easier for farmers to know what to grow, how to grow, where and when to sell their produce. The services are available to all farmers in a personlized manner, alongside on-call service and multiple languages.
Rajiv Tevtiya, Managing Partner and CEO of RML AgTech, also shares his excitement for the funding round as under,
We are glad to see the faith laid by IvyCap Ventures in our business model. We believe, with the increased penetration of smart phones in the rural area and the push given by the government to go digital, accessibility of our products to farmers will see significant growth over the next 2-5 years.
Upgrading of technology in agriculture sector will also boost farmer income and help achieve the vision of doubling farmer income by 2022, as laid out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
We’re all aware of the fact that more than 50 percent of the country’s population is dependent on the agricultural sector. And RML AgTech is now working on the dissemination of tech solutions to solve a grass root problem in this industry. Talking about his future vision for the venture, he further adds,
We are going to soon provide customized smart farming solutions to farmers which will enhance crop productivity and earnings. In developed countries like USA or Canada, farmers spend 13% as input cost on technology and marketing agronomy news/data after investing in seed and fertilizers, unlike India where focus is on machinery and not data science.
