Industry News

10/03/2026

Verdant Impact raises $3M to scale AI-driven livestock solution

Indian agritech startup Verdant Impact has raised USD 3 million in seed funding led by VC Unicorn India Ventures, to scale its digital agriculture solution Pashu.AI, strengthen R&D and expand across new regions in the country.

Founded in 2020, Verdant Impact is an AI- and IoT-driven precision genetics company that builds integrated digital solutions for sustainable dairy systems. At the core of its model is Pashu.AI, which provides multilingual AI advisory for crop management, livestock care, disease detection and real-time market insights, available in more than 20 Indian languages.

The platform enables farmers to monitor livestock health, improve breeding decisions and manage herds using real-time data, supported by IoT-enabled tools for continuous tracking. Verdant Impact reports having served over 600,000 farmers to date and is targeting approximately USD 12 million revenue by 2026.

Why it matters
Solutions like Pashu.AI offer unique value because they go beyond basic advisory, supporting health diagnostics, nutrition management and breeding decisions through real-time data and AI models.

The fact that the platform operates in more than 20 Indian languages shows a focus on usability and farmer adoption. The key question is whether this level of scientific precision can consistently translate into trusted, yet simple and actionable on-farm advisory at scale.

14/03/2026

WayCool raises $22.5M to strengthen supply chain and FMCG pivot

Indian agritech startup WayCool has raised INR2.1 billion (USD 22.5 million) from impact investor Lightrock, marking its first significant equity round in nearly four years.

Founded in 2015, WayCool operates a full-stack “soil-to-sale” platform, connecting over 85,000 farmers to retailers and institutional buyers. The company spans sourcing, distribution and food processing, and sells products under brands such as Madhuram and KitchenJi.

The funding comes after a period of restructuring, including layoffs and leadership changes. In FY23, WayCool reported revenue of around USD 150 million but loss were at around USD 82 million), highlighting the challenges of scaling supply chain-led agritech models.

In response, the company has been shifting toward higher-margin segments, particularly FMCG and branded products. The fresh capital is expected to support this transition, alongside strengthening its supply chain infrastructure.

Why it matters WayCool’s latest funding reflects broader consolidation in India’s agritech sector, one of the most developed globally. Recent moves, including Arya.ag raising around USD 80 million, AgroStar securing USD 30 million, and the Unnati–Gramophone merger, point to a stronger focus on scale and more sustainable business models. In particular, WayCool’s pivot toward FMCG highlights a wider shift toward downstream, post-farm segments, where margins are higher and revenue streams more predictable.

17/03/2026

Lersha and EABC target 1 million Ethiopian farmers with finance, inputs and mechanisation

Ethiopian agritech Lersha and the Ethiopian Agricultural Businesses Corporation (EABC), a federal government public enterprise, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at reaching 1 million smallholder farmers with access to finance, agricultural inputs and mechanisation services by 2030.

The partnership combines Lersha’s digital platform with EABC’s machinery and input supply network, enabling service delivery through integrated physical supply chains. It is aligned with national initiatives including the National Agri-Finance Implementation Roadmap (NAFIR), the Digital Agriculture Roadmap (2025–2032) and the National Mechanization Strategy.

Founded in 2018, Lersha uses a phy-gital model connecting 270,000+ smallholder farmers, and 250+ service providers, offering a marketplace for agricultural inputs, mechanization, access to finance, market linkage, agro-climate advisory and fertilizer recommendation through both online and offline solutions. For service delivery, the agritech leverages a network of 2,000+ agents, a call-center (7860), and the Lersha digital platform.

Since March 2023, the company has worked with the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) to develop digital profiles for over one million farmers, enabling fertiliser recommendations and climate-informed advisory.

Why it matters
Ethiopia’s Digital Agriculture Roadmap (2025–2032) places credit and insurance at the centre of its scale-up strategy, but delivery has remained fragmented. By linking farmer data, input supply and mechanisation with financing, this partnership is a test of whether those ambitions can be operationalised into a functioning, end-to-end system at scale.

18/03/26

Ghana launches Timbuktoo AgriTech Hub to scale digital agriculture

Ghana has launched the Timbuktoo AgriTech Hub in Accra, backed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as part of a broader push to scale digital innovation in agriculture.

The hub is part of the Timbuktoo initiative, a USD 1 billion pan-African programme launched by UNDP in 2024 to support impact-driven, early-stage startups. It aims to mobilise public and private capital to create 10 million jobs and impact 100 million livelihoods, while addressing gaps such as limited early-stage funding, weak incubators and fragmented markets.

The initiative is being rolled out through eight hubs (Accra, Kigali, Lagos and Nairobi) supporting sectors such as fintech, healthtech and agritech. The Ghana hub focuses on agriculture, building on the country’s wider digital agriculture agenda.

The AgriTech Hub brings together partners including 500 Global and Seedstars, and targets challenges such as fragmented supply chains, limited finance and climate risks through mobile technologies, data-driven tools and AI. In practice, the hub will operate as both an innovation and financing platform, offering incubation, access to capital, pan-African networks and capacity-building support.

Why it mattersThis reflects a shift from fragmented startup support toward more coordinated, continent-scale innovation platforms. As agritech funding becomes more constrained and innovation spreads across a wider set of markets, there is a growing need for knowledge sharing, coordination and cross-continental collaboration, besides capital.