Freshly raised funds will be used by Stellapps to develop advanced technologies to transform the agricultural supply chain
Stellapps commits to developing a gender strategy to promote female leadership through the first equity investment by IDH FarmFit Fund in India
It currently digitizes over 13 million liters of milk worth $3.4 million per day and directly impacts 2.8 million dairy farmers in over 35,000 Indian villages across 15 states.
Stellapps, a Bengaluru-based dairy tech startup, has raised an undisclosed amount from IDH FarmFit, which is the fund’s first equity investment in India.
Following this investment, the dairy startup and IDH Farmfit Fund have entered into a one-of-a-kind partnership, a statement said.
Rising milk demand in India along with huge untapped milk production potential is driving Stellapps’ growth. And the startup aims to achieve its goal with its tech-enabled, platform-based dairy supply chain services.
The startup is an IIT-Madras incubated company, founded by a group of IITians and technologists. Since its inception in 2011, this dairy technology startup has aimed to increase farmers’ net income by improving productivity in the value chain, improving milk quality and enabling traceability.
He said he was creating a digital highway and access network to enable the provision of value-added services such as credit, insurance, extension, agricultural inputs, etc.
Ranjith Mukundan, Managing Director of Stellapps, said, “We are extremely pleased to welcome IDH FarmFit Fund as an investor. The investment will help realize our vision of creating a digital ecosystem that empowers smallholder farmers to become entrepreneurs. This involves enabling easy and quick access to extension services, quality livestock feed, financial services and market linkages. We look forward to learning from the rich experience of IDH FarmFit Fund to make a significant impact on the Indian agricultural sector.
The startup said that with its customer base that includes all major private and cooperative dairies, Stellapps is currently digitizing over 13 million liters of milk worth $3.4 million per day and directly impacting 2.8 million dairy farmers in over 35,000 Indian villages in 15 states.
Varishna Tewarie, Investment Manager of IDH Farmfit Fund for Asia, said, “We are delighted to support Stellapps with this new investment, which will improve farmers’ incomes and positively impact their lives. We will witness the transformation of one of India’s most crucial agricultural sectors sectors. The company supports Indian smallholder farmers by increasing transparency, improving farming practices and enabling financial inclusion.
It is well known that Indian economy mainly depends on agriculture and here the scope of agribusiness is immense. According to the startup, milk is the aorta of the economy, since it employs more than 40% of the agricultural workforce and contributes the largest percentage to its agricultural GDP.
Coming to the country’s dairy sector, which is the largest in the world, contributes 22% of global milk production. India’s dairy and livestock sector is a $225 billion industry and contributes 7.6% of India’s GDP.
Last year in September, Stellapps raised INR 67 Cr in a follow-up round to its previous raised Series B tower.
