Traditional agricultural supply chains often involve multiple intermediaries which leads to increased costs and no connect between farmers and consumers. To bridge this gap, KisanKonnect uses its in-house technology to source produce directly from farmers to the customers. Building on this innovative approach, KisanKonnect recently raised Rs 31 crore in a pre-series A funding round led by Green Frontier Capital and backed by Dhanuka Agritech, VC Grid, and other family offices.
Founded in 2020, KisanKonnect has swiftly become a pioneering force in the Agritech startup landscape. It has directly completed over 1lakh physical deliveries to its customers in Mumbai and Pune through its dedicated Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) app and farm stores.
“Kisankonnect is revolutionizing the field with its dedication to soil improvement, reduced chemical usage, and elevated farm productivity – values that align seamlessly with our mission to champion climate tech innovations. The company’s commitment ensures that fresh produce arrives on your plate at lightning speed,” said Sandiip Bhammer, Managing Partner and Founder, GFC.
Vivek Nirmal, Founder and CEO said “Our extensive work on the farm front also benefits our consumers, as they get a safer produce to consume. Our tech-enabled temperature controlled and fully traceable supply chain is unique in the country. This helps the sorted and graded fresh produce of our farmers, to reach our consumers in Mumbai and Pune in the shortest possible time. The wastages are reduced significantly which ensures fair prices for farmers and consumers both, while helping reduce carbon emissions in the Agri supply-chain.’
This funding comes on the heels of a previous angel round in May 2023, where celebrity Shilpa Shetty endorsed the venture with undisclosed funding. Through the capital raised in this funding, the start-up aims to expand climate-smart agriculture interventions with the company’s 5000 farmers.
Moreover, the startup forms partnerships with farmers to foster sustainable food production along with supporting economic empowerment by involving rural women in the production of curated agri-produce and hand-made snacks under the ‘Village Staples‘ and ‘Mom’s Kitchen‘ categories.
The involvement of Green Frontier Capital (GFC) shows the growing interest in climate-smart initiatives within the investment landscape. GFC’s commitment to funding startups with a sustainable focus goes hand-in-hand with KisanKonnect’s dedication to creating environmentally conscious agriculture.
Vivek Nirmal, Founder and CEO of KisanKonnect said, ‘Eliminating middlemen has helped us to reduce wastage and offer a fair price to the farmers, as well as, the consumers. At KisanKonnect, we have a passion to work with our soil, and our farmers and producing safe fruits and vegetables for our loyal consumers. We have built traceability for the vegetables we source for our consumers using our proprietary tech’ Kisan-Trace’, which gives full information about the farm, farming practices, and its growing location to our consumers on the App, even before buying the same. Farmers have seen better productivity through scientific interventions through our Agri-Clinics”.
KisanKonnect: A Farmer-Driven Revolution in Fresh Produce
Founded in 2020 by Vivek Nirmal and Nidhi Nirmal, KisanKonnect is a farmer-producer company which uses an integrated farming system that helps in blending traditional farming practices with modern technology.
With a network of over 500 farms, KisanKonnect prioritizes delivering fresh, hygienic fruits, and vegetables directly sourced from local farmers to consumers in Mumbai and Pune. By removing middlemen, the platform ensures fair prices and creates a best-in-class supply chain model for a sustainable farm-to-table experience.
Shilpa Shetty Kundra shared the concern about trusting the source and nutrition in the veggies which form an important portion of our daily diet. “The purpose of this partnership is to connect our farmers who follow responsible farming practices to conscious consumers in Mumbai and Pune, who care about what they consume and want it conveniently delivered to their home directly from the farm. We see our customers love and trust KisanKonnect and prefer buying more from our farmers.”
At the heart of KisanKonnect’s mission is the use of cutting-edge technology to provide super-nutritious, economically viable produce that supports consumer health and immunity. The platform’s village-level collection centres empower a network of 5,000 farmers, reinforcing the direct connection between growers and consumers.
KisanKonnect’s Journey: From Fields to Doorsteps
KisanKonnect was started when eleven farmers from Shrirampur Taluka of Ahmednagar District and Junnar Taluka of Pune District wanted to fight against the market uncertainties brought on by the outbreak of the Coronavirus in March 2020.
Facing the loss of regular incomes and markets for their produce, these farmers along with their academic backgrounds in agriculture and management helped in the formation of KisanKonnect.
From managing daily orders through WhatsApp and phones during lockdowns, KisanKonnect found its footing and started catering to housing societies in Mumbai and Pune. Witnessing a surge in demand for their produce, the group expanded its reach by developing a technology platform, creating an app, and launching a website to streamline orders.
From a turnover of Rs 40 Lakhs in the first two months, KisanKonnect has now become a significant force, connecting over 2,000 farmers and achieving a turnover of over Rs 8 crore. Today, their boxes of farm-fresh produce find their way to countless homes in Mumbai and Pune, a testament to the impact of their vision.
In a landscape now filled with Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) agritech startups, KisanKonnect stands out as a Farmer Producer Company (FPC), a unique distinction in an industry often dominated by entrepreneurs. Unlike startups that buy in bulk from farmers, mark up prices, and sell to consumers, KisanKonnect is driven by the farmers themselves, eliminating middlemen and ensuring reasonable costs for customers.
Beyond being an FPC, KisanKonnect is a social integration model, uniting farmers and creating a movement for economic progress without relying on market-driven forces like APMCs or middlemen. The initiative has not only provided employment opportunities to rural communities through packing centres and tech-led call centres but also adheres to agronomy norms with the guidance of an agronomist and the local Krishi Vikas Kendra in Shrirampur.
Co-founder and Chief Business Officer Nidhi Nirmal of KisanKonnect added, “In today’s world, consumers have become highly conscious of what they consume. Knowing the farmer from whom the food comes directly is a matter of great confidence about the quality of the produce. As a mother, it is important for me whether what I’m buying for my family are leafy vegetables grown on sewage water near railway tracks, or I’m getting it from a known source, who ensures the produce is harvested from healthy plants.”
Join The Story Watch’s initiative to create a vibrant community for the startup ecosystem.