India agritech startup funds grow 300% to $248M

New Delhi - New emerging areas like market linkage, digital agriculture, better access to inputs, function-as-a-service and financing gaining traction

Agritech startups in India received more than $248 million funding in the first half of 2019, a growth of 300 per cent as compared to the same period in the previous year, according to a study by IT industry body Nasscom.
Growing at the rate of 25 per cent year-on-year, the country currently hosts more than 450 startups in the agritech sector, said the report entitled Agritech in India - Emerging Trends in 2019.
Indian firms are increasingly looking at global markets to expand with a focus on regions like South East Asia, Europe, Africa and South America. In the last five years, more than five global agritech companies have ventured into India, as compared to more than 25 Indian agritech companies with a global presence, the findings showed.
New emerging areas like market linkage, digital agriculture, better access to inputs, function-as-a-service and financing are gaining traction. The research showed that every ninth agritech startup in the world is originating from India.
"Adoption of technology in agriculture has always needed a structured institutional focus and technology firms are trying to break into the agricultural landscape using newer business models," said Debjani Ghosh, president of Nasscom. "The findings of the report are a testimony to the potential of the agritech industry and the opportunities that India presents in the agriculture and farming landscape," she added.
With more and more local farmers accepting the innovative startup solutions, there has been a considerable shift witnessed from business-to-consumer to business-to-business startups, said the report.
Corporates and investors are playing a vital role in supporting this with over $200 million investment in B2B startups in the past 18 months, making it a key revenue generating segment in the overall agritech sector.
This has enabled better market access, faster technology adoption and domain specific product development support to the industry, Nasscom said.
It is estimated that by 2020, the agritech sector would be at the centre of innovation and will lead India's journey towards overall transformation.

• India