ImpactAlpha, March 4 – Mumbai-based Jai Kisan facilitates low-interest loans to farmers in India to buy equipment and supplies, like seeds and fertilizer. The company has raised $1.5 million in seed funding from financial services-focused venture capital firm Blume Ventures, Astarc Ventures, Prophetic Ventures, and U.K.-based Better Capital.
Jai Kisan launched in 2017 with a mission to “derisk” financing for India’s farmers by underwriting and managing loans for other financial services companies. The company says its approach is to incentivize financial firms to provide financial products and services to a segment of the Indian population that has few options.
“Most startups operating in rural India believe in disrupting the status quo. We don’t believe economic and social impact can be achieved by displacing the traditional stakeholders,” Jai Kisan’s founder Arjun Ahluwalia said.
Jai Kasan operates from the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka and works through partners, like retailers and agriculture product suppliers, to reach customers. The company plans to use the seed funding to expand into several other states.
Last year, the company participated in JPMorgan and Bharat Inclusion Initiative’s first Financial Inclusion Lab cohort—a spinoff of the JPMorgan-backed Financial Solutions Lab in the U.S.
