Jiye Technologies, a Lahore-based agritech startup that focuses on Farm-to-Retail solutions, has raised US$2.5 million in a pre-seed round, according to Jiye. This is the largest pre-seed financing in Pakistan’s agritech industry.
The business is expanding its operations to five major cities in Pakistan with new funding. It also intends to launch the platform in the MENA region next year, a $120 billion market.
With a workforce of over 150 employees, the firm claims to have grown more than 30 times in just five months. Jiye is on a quest to disrupt the country’s agritech industry by facilitating farmers’ access to markets and sourcing to retailers via a lean supply chain ecosystem. Despite having one of the world’s greatest cultivable lands, Pakistan’s agriculture sector has developed at a 2% annual rate in the last decade, according to the business. The startup recognizes the immense potential lurking within the sector, which is ripe for disruption,” which is both a challenge and an opportunity.
The farm-to-retail supply chain in Pakistan is extremely fragmented, with middlemen buying farm produce from farmers at reduced prices. Because of the commissions imposed by many stakeholders in the supply chain, the price of the product has escalated dramatically by the time it reaches retailers.
Multiple stakeholders buy at arbitrary prices, resulting in high price volatility daily. Fresh produce is delivered in a disorganized and time-consuming manner in outmoded vehicles, which increases wastage and shortens the shelf life of vegetables and fruits.
Through an ecosystem of partnerships, the business hopes to add value-added services like insurance and loans to the app as it grows. Furthermore, the company has ambitious intentions to advance its aim of digitizing the farm-to-retail supply chain through fintech solutions, promoting financial inclusion, and integrating the vast segment into the formal financial system.
“We’re driven by effect,” Ali Amin, co-founder of Jiye Technologies, said. “We like to make positive change in categories that influence the majority in Pakistan, therefore we opted to remedy a situation that affects over 70% of the country’s population.”
“Jiye Technologies, with its skilled staff, is trying to disrupt the local farming supply chain by developing better procedures and efficiencies while catering to the interests of its stakeholders,” said Issa Aghabi, managing partner at Access Bridge Ventures.”
Image Credit: Jiye Technologies
