Bangalore-based Gold Farm runs a mobile-based service for leasing farm equipment and solar-powered water pumps to small farmers in the Indian state of Karnataka.
The company, which started in 2012 and serves about 25,000 farmers, takes a 10% to 15% cut of the transaction.
Mahindra & Mahindra, an automaker based in Mumbai, led Gold Farm’s $2 million seed round, with participation from Infuse Ventures. Gold Farm plans to tap Mahindra’s equipment line to expand the types of farming products available on its platform.
Other startups have raised investor capital for equipment financing in India, where 60% of the population depends on agriculture.
In March, FarMart raised an undisclosed amount of funding for its pay-per-use farming-equipment service.