Continuing the conviction in the agri-tech sector, India’s leading venture debt firm, Stride Ventures, today announced a debt round of INR 50 Crore in WayCool, India’s leading food and agri-tech platform. WayCool solves various pain points throughout the food logistics supply chain while improving farmers’ income, reducing food waste, and increasing consumer access to high-quality produce.
WayCool is addressing some of the most pressing supply chain challenges in India’s agricultural sector. The Indian agriculture industry worth $340B, is still largely unorganized and fragmented. With an extensive network of farmers and customers and a well-built tech suite, WayCool is efficiently handling and managing 1500 tonnes of food every day. The company is also bringing about a fundamental transformation in the food value chain by turning it from a supply-led to a demand-led supply chain, thus reducing food waste and inefficiencies. Backed by global impact investors, the company had recently raised USD 40 mn.
Chinna Pardhasardhi, Chief Finance Officer, WayCool, said, “Since the beginning, we at WayCool have been taking several tech-driven initiatives to innovate and bolster the Indian food economy. We welcome Stride Ventures to the Waycool family joining us in our journey to build one of the largest Food and Agri tech platforms”.
Apoorva Sharma, Partner at Stride Ventures, said “WayCool aims to build the world’s largest food development and distribution services company and positively impact the lives of 150,000 farmers. The company is supported by best-in-class investors and a remarkable team who are building the future of the Indian food economy. We are excited to be part of their journey and we strongly believe they will continue to grow and disrupt the agriculture industry in India.”
With this round, Stride Ventures continues to expand its portfolio into new-age start-ups across sectors creating innovative debt structures, which cater to the needs of the founders. It plays a strategic role in the long-term journey of its portfolio companies through deep penetration into the banking and venture ecosystem.
About WayCool –
WayCool Foods is India’s leading food and agri-tech platform. Focusing on food development and distribution, the company leverages innovative technology to scale and operate a complex supply chain from soil to sale. Through its farmer engagement program – Outgrow, WayCool works with more than 150,000 farmers. WayCool operates a full-stack, broadline product range across multiple channels and categories such as fresh produce, staples, and dairy, serving over 100,000 clients in the general trade, modern trade, and food services space. WayCool’s consumer brands basket consists of Madhuram, Kitchenji, L’exotique, and Freshey’s, to name a few.
About Stride Ventures –
Stride Ventures, a leading venture debt fund, has become synonymous with innovative startup financing in India. The firm has always characterized itself as a fund that has the ability to constantly adapt and evolve and bring forth novel solutions to the venture ecosystem. This is deeply rooted in the partner-centric approach that the company has adopted since its inception.
Stride provides comprehensive solutions, going beyond venture debt, to cater to the distinctive challenges faced by high-growth and inherently strong businesses, backed by leading VCs. Its institutionalized processes have ensured zero delays or delinquencies till date and Stride has been one of the most active lenders in the Indian startup ecosystem
The firm has created a well-diversified portfolio by sanctioning over INR 1600 Crore in 66+ companies across Consumer, FinTech, Logistics, AgriTech, B2B Commerce, HealthTech, B2B SaaS, mobility & energy solutions (EV).
