Meratractor, a Pune-based start-up and a ‘Phygital' marketplace catering to farm mechanization products, has raised Rs5cr. in Pre-Series A funding, bringing total capital raised to₹7.25 Cr. post this round.
The funding round was led by Vibhor Sahare, CEO & Co-founder of ANS Commerce and Ex-CEO & Co-founder of Gaadi.com, Real Time Angel Fund, and Digital Futuristic Angels Network. The newly raised funds will be utilised in increasing dealership network presence and enhancing technology to organize supply channels.
"We liked the holistic ecosystem approach that the MeraTractor team is using to solve structural issues in the used tractor space. It's a unique niche within the broader agri-tech space that can have a substantial impact in democratising tractor ownership" said the lead investors.
MeraTractor aims to create an entire ecosystem to become a one-stop solution for all stakeholders engaged in the farm mechanisation sector. Despite being asset-light, the company, which is a dealer-owned and company-operated model, controls the entire transaction and creates a sustainable business proposition for farmers, dealers, financiers, and new tractor OEMs.
Its dealership network is based out of rural locations which are slated to eventually become its gateway for tapping into the entire rural business opportunities related to the farm sector.
Highlighting the opportunities that lay ahead, Monak Gohel, Co-founder, MeraTractor, said, "The farm mechanization sector is on the verge of massive disruption and has created an environment for innovation that will help start-ups like MeraTractor address the inefficiencies in the sector." Some of the investors that participated in the funding round were:
o Gaurav Gupta - CEO, Adani Capital
o Shashank Kumar - Co-founder, Dehaat
o Amrendra Singh - Co-founder, Dehaat
o Avinash Kumar - Founder, Credenc
o Arvind Kumar - Business Head, Agri division- Force Motors and Ex-CEO of Trringo (M&M group company) and Lemkin India.
The start-up intends to become a new-age manufacturer that will help dealers (Rural entrepreneurs in Tier 3 to Tier 6 Locations) sell farm mechanisation products to small and marginal farmers. This model is built to create a complete eco-system, a mixer of physical and digital, and hence, called, ‘Phygital network'.
That will help partner dealers from a supply of tractors, demand generation to the sale of tractors, name transfer documentation, bringing in banking partners for tractor loans, and much more. The company's revenue comes from creating value at each point of transaction.
