Jai Kisan raises Rs 30 crore from Arkam Ventures, Nabard arm

Agriculture-focused lending startup Jai Kisan has raised Rs 30 crore in an equity funding round led by Arkam Ventures and NABVENTURES, the Mumbai-based company said on June 16.

While Arkam is a new fund set up by former executives of Helion Venture Partners and Kalaari Capital, NAB is the investment arm of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard).

The rural fintech firm’s existing investors such as Blume Ventures and Better Capital also participated in the round.

Founded by Arjun Ahluwalia and Adriel Maniego, Jai Kisan has disbursed Rs 50 crore of loans in the last six months for equipment, input and invoice financing for farmers. It tied up with banks and non-bank lenders to lend.

According to the company, less than 50 percent of the households dependent on agriculture have access to credit, with even fewer to rightly priced credit.

Rural borrowers often find it difficult to access financial services from banks and other traditional sources due to lack of documentation, credit or transaction history, visibility of cash flow and operations.

“Very few startups have the commanding view of a large untapped space. Even fewer startups have the luxury of tailwinds in these challenging times. Jai Kisan is a rare combination of both of the above along with a unique business model that adds value to multiple participants of the agri-supply chain," said Rahul Chandra, Managing Director of Arkam Ventures.