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Agri-tech platform Ninjacart, which connects farmers to retailers, has expanded its supply chain operations to Delhi, Mumbai and Pune and hired 600 people across these locations to handle sales, procurement, category management, operations and logistics.
The start-up is utilising funds received from the recently closed Series B round of ₹250 crore for expansion and hiring.
Launched in 2015, the Bengaluru-based start-up currently moves 350 tonnes of fruits and vegetables from a sourcing network of 4,500 farmers to 9,500 retailers in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad every day.
“We are thrilled to expand our footprint beyond South India .... It is an opportunity for us to create employment possibilities, innovate the supply chain, allow farmers to build consistency in demand and facilitate doorstep delivery for retailers at better prices” said Thirukumaran Nagarajan, CEO and co-founder, Ninjacart. With the expansion into three new cities, Ninjacart will cater to regions throughout Maharashtra, Rajasthan, UP and Haryana. While the initial operations in Delhi and Mumbai have started with the onboarding of 300 farmers and 600 retailers and with 180 farmers and 360 retailers in Pune, this number is expected to grow to over 2,000 farmers and over 4,500 retailers across Delhi and Mumbai and over 1,200 farmers and over 5,000 retailers across Pune in the next six months. The start-up plans to start operations in Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Kanpur thereafter.
‘Operationally profitable’
“We are operationally profitable in Bengaluru and will achieve the same in Chennai and Hyderabad in the next 3-6 months. Our overall headcount will increase from 1,200 now to 2,000-plus by year-end. We are bolstering our platform’s capabilities to enable the moving of 1,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables a day from 350 tonnes a day at present,” said Kartheeswaran KK, co-founder Ninjacart.
Backed by investors such as Trifecta Capital, Accel Partners, Qualcomm Ventures and Nandan Nilekani NRJN Trust, Ninjacart aims to increase farmers’ incomes, reduce food wastage, introduce competitive prices for retailers and ensure superior quality food for all consumers.
It has been identified ás one of the top 11 Indian start-ups to enable $50 billion online commerce by Google, Bain and Omidiyar.
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