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Agritech start-up tech platform Unnati plans to expand its operations in States such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan and Punjab this year, said co-founder Amit Sinha.
Unnati currently operates in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar, where it has a customer base of around 2.75 lakh farmers who purchase and sell seeds and fertilisers through its platform. It also provides financial services and farm advisory through the platform.
“In Maharashtra we operate in mainly Vidarbha and Marathawada region, while in Madhya Pradesh mainly in the southern part of the State. We have just started in Haryana and would be looking at West Bengal and Jharkhand. Our aim is to have a userbase of million farmers by next financial year,” Sinha said.
Expanding userbase
Unnati has a retail partner base of 7,500 including input retailers, aggregators and village level entrepreneurs who help farmers transact on the tech platform. Sinha said the company expects to increase the number of such retail partners to around a lakh as it expands its geographical footprint in the year ahead. However, Sinha did not disclose the business transacted through the Unnati platform citing competitive reasons.
Recently, Unnati has partnered with Paytm Payments Bank to drive financial inclusion among the farming community in the region its operates and has launched a co-branded debit card.
“The Paytm Payments Bank card is embedded into the Unnati tech plaform. For farmers selling their produce through Unnati, the money will be directly credited into the Paytm Bank saving account. Also, farmers can book their inputs using the platform, which they will get at a competitive price resulting in some savings,” Sinha said.
Besides helping food processors such as starch and feed makers access raw materials, Unnati is also working with several sugar mills in UP, helping them procure sugarcane from the growers.
Unnati, which raised $1.7 million or about Rs 12 crore in October last year in the pre-series A round funding from Nabventures Fund, would be looking at raising further capital later this year to expand its operations.
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