Indonesian startup TaniGroup has created a platform through which farmers can connect with buyers who don't need middlemen involved. All operations are done through mobile-based transactions to help introduce farmers to the massive e-commerce market.
TaniGroup was able to secure $10 million in Series A funding to help the startup develop better channels for Indonesia's agriculture sector. The funding was led by Singaporean venture capital firm Openspace Ventures. Other firms who helped deliver the funding are DFS Lab, Golden Gate Ventures, and Intudo Ventures.
At the moment, TaniGroup offers TaniHub, a mobile online marketplace where farmers can sell their produce. Another platform, TaniFund, allows for small farmers to connect with lending institutions to help them with capital funds.
"Indonesia's farming sector still lacks a proper platform that connects farmers with buyers of their agriculture produce," TaniGroup founder, Pamitra Wineka, noted. Through the startup's platforms, over 25,000 farmers have sold produce so far.
Fresh products are the center of TaniGroup's farmer's channel. Aside from connecting farmers with individual clients, the platform also helps introduce small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to farmers who produce vegetables, fruits, and other plants in bulk.
The company is now looking at potentially assisting farmers in improving their agricultural decision-making tasks while also maintaining TaniHub and TaniFund to cater to new channel members.
New platforms will be developed through funding to further boost Indonesia's third-largest sector. The ultimate goal is to alleviate small farmers by helping them reach out to potential buyers without the need for a middleman to negotiate prices.
Pamitra is a former World Bank analyst who joined hands with five friends to form TaniGroup. The government has expressed support for the agritech firm that aims to expand nationwide within the next few years.
In the last three years of TaniGroup's operations, it now has a user base of around 10,000 consumers and 400 SMEs that provide farmers with fairer opportunities compared to transactions done with a middleman.
TaniGroup's TaniFund is registered under the Indonesian Fintech Lenders Association (AFPI) and Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK). The firm is committed to helping farmers grow their small businesses by up to 60 percent while they transact through TaniHub.
After all, Indonesian farmers are concerned mainly about "certainty of sales," Pamitra explained. While pricing is important, farmers believe that it's better to gain a circle of sure buyers who are willing to absorb their fresh produce.
TaniGroup, on the other hand, will prioritize its goal of helping farmers get out of the middleman culture that sometimes puts farmers on the losing end of a certain transaction. The company has a lot of space for growth even if agriculture developments already helped haul in $90.76 billion for Indonesia's 2018 gross domestic product (GDP).
