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An Indonesian startup TaniHub that helps farmers get better prices, and more customers for their harvest, has recently raised $65.5 million in its Series B.
The funding round was led by MDI Ventures, which is part of Telkom Group. It is considered one of Indonesia’s largest telecoms. Other investors are Add Ventures, BRI Ventures, Flourish Ventures, Intudo Ventures, Openspace Ventures, Tenaya Capital, UOB Venture Management, and Vertex Ventures.
About TaniHub
It was founded in 2016, having 45,000+ farmers and 350,000 purchasers in its network. The company helps farmers earn more for their harvest by seamless distribution channels, eliminating intermediaries and letting them function properly via TaniHub, TaniSupply, and TaniFund.
Talking specifically about TaniHub then it is the B2B e-commerce business platform. It connects farmers directly to its customers. It lets them fulfill orders via TaniSupply, and other logistics platforms. It currently operates 6 warehousing and processing facilities where harvests can be washed, sorted, and packed within an hour easily. Hence, the delivery is fast and seamless by TaniHub’s own couriers or third-party logistics offerings.
Whereas, TaniFund is a fintech platform, offers loans to farmers they can use while growing crops and pay off by selling via TaniHub. The CEO and Co-founder Eka Pamitra said- “its credit scoring system is based on three years of performance, the company’s agriculture value chain expertise and partnerships with financial institutions”.
He further explained- “More than 100 data points are considered when doing the credit risk assessment. For example, for cultivation financing products, TaniFund tailors each credit scoring based on agriculture risks and market risk of each commodity, on top of the typical borrower E-KYC scoring and process. Beyond credit scoring, having TaniSupply and TaniHub as a standby buyer within the ecosystem also helps to mitigate risk of each loan. TaniFund aims to further boost its credit scoring system with smarter data processing and better machine learning models.”
The company stated that the proceedings or funds will be used to build the upstream and midstream parts of its supply chain. It will focus on new cultivation areas, packing centers, packing, and warehouses.
It is also planning to expand its operations beyond Java and Bali to source and sell locally. It will also explore precision farming technology. The platform helps farmers plan crop cultivation, and timing with the aim to reduce price differences and to maintain a constant supply.
