eFarm has received seed stage funding from Mumbai Angels

Mumbai angels, one of India's leading seed stage investment group ,has invested an undisclosed amount through its seed fund in eFarm .The Mumbai Angels comprise of successful entrepreneurs, professionals and executives across the globe. In addition to the capital , the Mumbai Angels provides access to high quality mentoring, vast networks in India and abroad and inputs on strategy as well as execution.

eFarm is a young social enterprise firm based in Chennai . efarm is India's first end-to-end agri supply chain platform , providing a combination of technology solutions and on-ground distribution mechanism to enable farmers reach end markets in an effective manner. eFarm's  solution takes a more holistic approach , addressing the key needs and pain points of all stakeholders in the agri supply chain - farmers, transporters , intermediaries end consumers - to evolve a sustainable , transparent and efficient new distribution mechanism. It operates in the B2B space and serves bulk consumers of agri produce such as hotels, caterers, retail chains , food processing industries and vegetable vendors, and also runs a retail outlet for the Indian army.

eFarm's solution is based on following key strategies :

• Develop a IT based backbone for data gathering, analysis ,planning and monitoring the entire operati   on    
• Setup low cost collection centres close to villages in partnership with farmers for organised collection and grading
• Setup distribution centres in metros , close to customer location , for final delivery
• Train intermediaries like transport operators in proper handling of perishables to reduce transit wastage
• Map the demand and supply and ensure just in time distribution

eFarm is currently operational in Chennai and sources from over 1500 farmers in surrounding areas of tamilnadu . It operates on a B2B

Speaking on the funding from Mumbai Angels , Srivalli, CEO of efarm said "The funding from Mumbai angels would help us expand our operations and benefit farmers across the region of tamilnadi, Andra Pradesh and Karnataka in our first phase of operations. Secondly, getting funded by a conventional investment firm like Mumbai angels signifies that social ventures and agri centric ventures are now being seen as not just being 'socially relevant' but also "financially viable".

efarm also works with several self help group women and NGOs for differently abled to train them in agro based processing tasks such as peeling, cutting, making processed food products etc., "This has not only enabled us to provide employment to various people underprivileged segment , but their entrepreneurial drive and focus has helped us tide over the severe labour shortage which affects agri industry in general." adds Srivalli.

Anil Joshi and Karthik Reddy, lead representatives from Mumbai angels who oversaw the deal commented :" This is our first investment in the agri sector and social investment space.The innovative business model , combined with fact this is a key growth sector for coming years were key reasons which prompted our decision. We were quite impressed with the commitment and work put in by the management team , considering that this was an entireley new area for them. We would be keen to support them in additional rounds as well, as we feel there is huge scope once the model is proven to scale it across India."

Venkat, the founder and COO of eFarm said "The biggest gaps we saw affecting the agri industry was that educated people and the youth regarded this field as less remunerative and fulfilling. But when valli and myslef quit our corporate jobs and having worked on ground for over 2 years we see there are so many oppurtunities that what is really lacking are motivated entrepreneurs to take it up. To accelerate this, we often conduct training sessions, lectures to highlight the oppurtunities in the entire agri based industry spectrum."

"As more young and restless like us join this sector , we predict that agri industrywould also be as thriving and challenging career option for many professionals. Im sure as an entreprenur, even Mr. Narayan Murthy would have faced several hurdles as he built the foundations of India's IT industry. It is time to change the wheels - where IT people come back into agri sector " concludes Venkat , who is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur .