Digital agriculture in LMICs - 24 Apr #84

AgFunder reports 22% surge in upstream agritech funding across developing markets; AgroStar secures $6.7M in India, Eratani raises $6.2M in Indonesia

Back from the Easter break—ArisTechia is up and running again. Here is our roundup of recent agritech news:

09/04/25

India’s AgroStar raises $6.7M, reaches $293M evaluation

Indian agritech AgroStar has raised USD 6.7 million from existing investors, with Accel India leading the round. Other investors include Aavishkaar India, Bertelsmann, Evolvence India, Chiratae Ventures, and Hero Enterprises. Established in 2013, AgroStar started as an e-commerce platform for inputs, and evolved to become a cloud platform combining agronomy and data science to provide customised crop advisory. Today, the company combines farm advisory with the provision of agri inputs.

Photo credit: AgroStar

The agritech operates in 11 Indian states, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. The company claims to serve over nine million farmers through its digital platform. AgroStar is one of the main agritechs in India alongside WayCool, NinjaCart and DeHaat. The company has raised over USD 110 million, including a USD 70 million Series D round, and has reached an evaluation of around USD 293 million, according to Entrackr.

11/04/25

Hello Tractor renews Absa Bank partnership, gets $3.9M for mechanisation services

Kenya’s Absa Bank is extending an additional KES 500 million (USD 3.9 million) in financing under a partnership with agritech firm Hello Tractor and U.S. machinery giant John Deere. Launched two years ago, the initiative aims to improve smallholder farmers’ access to mechanisation services. Hello Tractor has already utilised the initial KES 500 million to acquire 100 John Deere tractors and related inputs, which are now available to farmers through a Pay-As-You-Use model.

Established in 2014, Hello Tractor connects smallholder farmers with tractor owners through a digital platform. With Absa’s support, the agritech will be able to operate 50 tractors across 150,000 acres with a view to expand into other African countries. Besides Kenya, the agritech operates in other markets including Nigeria, Uganda, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The startup has to date raised approximately USD 6.29 million in funding across multiple rounds, including seed, debt, and grant financing.

17/04/25

Twiga Foods acquires distributors amid allegations of ‘soft liquidation’

Kenyan B2B agri e-commerce company Twiga Foods has acquired majority stakes in three local distributors – Jumra (Nairobi), Sojpar (Kisumu), and Raisons (Mombasa) – as part of its strategic shift from fresh produce supply to a full-service fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) platform. The acquisitions are designed to boost Twiga’s procurement capabilities and expand its reach across Central, Western, and Coastal Kenya, reinforcing its position as the country’s leading B2B e-commerce platform. The company did not disclose the transaction values for the acquisitions.

This expansion comes amid allegations of a "soft liquidation" strategy, suggesting that Twiga may be restructuring to circumvent financial obligations. The company has faced financial challenges, including a legal battle over an unpaid USD 261,000 cloud services bill, leading to court proceedings and a temporary injunction against liquidation. In response to financial pressures, Twiga has undergone significant restructuring, including layoffs cutting its workforce by 40%. The company has also secured new funding to address outstanding debts and support its transformation plans. ​

21/04/25

Indonesia’s Eratani bags $6.2M to expand digital platform for rice farmers

Indonesian agritech Eratani has raised USD 6.2 million Series A in a round led by Singapore-based Clay Capital. Other investors TNB Aura, SBI Ven Capital, AgFunder, Genting Ventures, and IIX participated I the round. The funds will be used to roll out precision agriculture tools, increase farm mechanisation, and accelerate sustainable cultivation practices. The raise comes as good news for the country’s agritech sector, after its most prominent company aquatech eFishery went down for faking its financial figures over an extended period of time. The new raise brings the total funding raised by Eratani to USD 13.6 million.

Founded in 2021, Eratani focuses on the rice value chain. It supports smallholder farmers via its end-to-end platform offering credit, agronomic advisory, inputs, and market linkages. According to Eratani, its digital solution has so far onboarded 34,000 farmers across Java and Sulawesi. The agritech reports an average 29% yield increase and a 25% increase in farmer incomes. Eratani has deployed on the ground 600 agri-kiosks and 70 rice milling units. Its ambition is to support the Indonesian government's push to achieve rice self-sufficiency by 2027.

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15/04/25

Analysis: Upstream agritech funding grows 22% in developing markets, says AgFunder

Agrifoodtech investment in developing markets rose sharply by 63% in 2024, reaching USD 3.7 billion across 523 deals, according to AgFunder’s latest study, the Developing Markets AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2025. This was largely driven by the growth of downstream investment, which refers to technologies and business models that are closer to the consumer end of the food supply chain (i.e. eGrocery, restaurant marketplaces, and restaurant tech). In developing markets, this category grew by 91% representing 57% of all funding for developing markets. Upstream funding also experienced significant growth in 2024 at 22%.​ This category includes digital solutions directly targeting smallholder farmers.

Fig.1: Developing markets agrifoodtech investment by quarter 2022–2025

Source: AgFunder

The AgFunder report reveals that agrifoodtech investment is rising in developing markets, in sharp contrast to a 4% global decline. Notably, India led the pack, securing USD 2.5 billion investment (+215% year-on-year) driven by e-Grocer Zepto’s USD 1.4 billion haul. Even excluding Zepto, India’s funding rose 49% y-o-y.

The upstream category of “agribusiness marketplaces and fintech” emerged as a key driver of upstream investment, accounting for 49%. Vietnam’s, Techcoop, which as reported by ArisTechia raised USD 70 million in a Series A round in March 2025, is among the top-funded platforms in the upstream category. Regionally, Africa secured USD 192 million, led by Kenya, which attracted nearly half that amount through startups like SunCulture and Pula Advisors.

Fig.2: Funding by developing region 2024

Source: AgFunder

Two key trends highlighted by the report are the surge (133% y-o-y) of late-stage funding activity (i.e. Series B and beyond), indicating a trend toward fewer but larger deals, and the relatively flat growth of early-stage deal (just 1% y-o-y). Both trends point at low risk propensity by investors given the persistent high perceived risk of agritech investment.