Walmart-owned Flipkart invests $145mn in ‘Ninjacart’

As e-grocery picks up momentum in India, Walmart-owned Flipkart on Monday announced to invest $145 million in agritech startup Ninjacart, which has helped over 1,00,000 farmers across 150 villages to generate better revenues. The third round of investment will further empower millions of agri-value chain participants, including farmers, resellers, retailers, consumers, and supply chain participants, the company said in a statement.

Ninjacart has been investing significantly in tech platforms and supply chain infrastructure over the past two years. "With this investment, we are further able to strengthen our grocery footprint and offering as consumers across the country throng to e-grocery for quality and affordable options in the fresh category," said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Group.

Flipkart offers grocery in 1,800 cities and towns, and aims to take its offering to 2,000 more towns by mid-next year. Fresh fruits and vegetables will be an integral part of the expansion, with the company investing in technology capabilities to ensure the highest and most stringent quality checks for the end consumer.

"India is at a cusp of formalising the agriculture industry, with the advent to better road connectivity, GST, seamless payments, digital infrastructure, etc. This opens up a tremendous opportunity to organise our agri-ecosystem landscape like never before. We are investing in this huge potential to create value," said Thirukumaran Nagarajan, Co-founder, and CEO, Ninjacart.

Earlier this year, Ninjacart inked an MoU with the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare to strengthen the market linkages and promote best practises in the farming sector. (IANS/JB)

(Keywords: Wallmart, Flipkart, Ninjacart, Onkine Shopping, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, India, GST)