RTP Global leads round for Indian B2B agritrading platform
Bijak, an Indian business-to-business (B2B) platform for trading agricultural commodities, has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by RTP Global.
Existing investors Omnivore Partners, Omidyar Network India, Sequoia Capital India and Better Capital were among the other participants. Sequoia is also an investor in DeHaat, an agricultural marketplace that raised $12 million in a Series A round earlier in the month.
Founded in 2019, Bijak – a Hindi term for an invoice - enables agricultural commodity buyers and sellers to carry out transactions on an app-based platform. A rating system helps them discover reliable partners and increases transparency. More than 90 commodities are available and the start-up says it has helped support transactions worth more than $150 million in gross merchandise value.
The platform also offers services like working capital loans for buyers and logistics solutions such as product delivery. The app is currently available in Hindi and English and is being used in 22 states, according to the company.
Last December, Bijak raised $2.5 million in seed funding. The latest injection of capital will go towards product development.
“We have always been extremely excited to work with amazing founders and the Bijak team has a great combination of industry expertise and technology vision. This is the first deal we have committed from our new fund and it sets a high bar for our future investee companies,” said Galina Chifina, a partner at RTP Global, in a statement.
The firm's other investments in India this year include participation in a $70 million round for app-based lending start-up MoneyTap, a deal that featured Sequoia as well. RTP is also an investor in New Delhi-based e-commerce platform Snapdeal and Pune-based cloud kitchen and food delivery company Rebel Foods, previously known as Faasos.
Apart from DeHaat, other VC-backed agriculture-focused technology companies in India include WayCool Foods, Ninjacart, DayBox, Crofarm, FreshoKartz, and CropIn.
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