Indian data-centric Agritech startups such as Cropin and AgNext, among others, are ramping up their overseas expansion plans.
South-East Asia, where technology use in agriculture and the commodities value chain is increasing, appears to be the preferred destination for Indian agri-tech start-ups, who are also looking at Africa, West Asia, and advanced countries such as the United States.
Technolgy digitized the sector
Cropin, which has solutions in over 56 countries, is establishing a subsidiary in Singapore to expand into the Southeast Asian market as well as the United States. It opened a subsidiary in the Netherlands last year to serve the European market. ‘We’re generating a lot of traction in the foreign market, and we want to capitalize on that,’ said Krishna Kumar, Cropin’s founder, and CEO.
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Cropin, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to increase efficiency and productivity in the farm sector, has over 250 customers and has digitized over 16 million acres of farmland, improving the livelihoods of over 7 million farmers. According to Krishna Kumar, the company has begun forecasting crop size using technologies and has recently forecasted wheat crops in Nigeria.
Agri startups going Global
Hemendra Mathur, an agri-tech investor and industry expert, stated that start-ups with data-centric models, such as SatSure, Cropin, AgNext, and IntelloLabs, among others, must go global in order to be scalable and sustainable. They can go anywhere in the world by tailoring their solutions to the needs of different markets. Countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, China, and Africa are large markets for innovation, and these companies may require local partnership and guidance, according to Mathur.
Taranjeet Singh Bhamra, Founder and CEO of AgNext, which provides quality assessment solutions for the food and agri-commodity value chain, announced this month that the company is expanding its operations to Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates.
‘There is enormous potential in other markets for companies developing technologies for multi-diverse commodity value chains, such as India. I don’t believe other countries have as rich a supply of technology as India’s experiments can provide to those stakeholders. This is only the beginning for the companies that have been operating in the Indian market for the past 6-7 years and have matured in the Indian ecosystem, fully understanding the ground realities and client needs. It is now only a matter of fine-tuning in these geographies to meet the needs of various stakeholders. Furthermore, Indian firms will be able to better integrate and assimilate technologies as a whole package and solution for multiple geographies,’ Bhamra said.
Southeast Asia is the focus of everyone’s attention
According to Bhamra, AgNext intends to export its solutions for commodity value chains such as milk, spices, and seeds. Also Read | Budget 2022- Incentives for R&D sought by aquaculture & agri-tech sectors.
SatSure, a start-up at the intersection of space technology, artificial intelligence, and software as a service, is looking to expand its presence in South and South-East Asia. It recently received a $5 million pre-series investment. Funding is led by Baring and ADB Ventures, the Asian Development Bank’s venture arm.
Similarly, precision ag-tech firm Fasal intends to use the $4 million it recently raised from investors such as 3one4 Capital and existing investors Omnivore and WaveMaker Partner to expand operations in Southeast Asia.
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