Mahindra Univeg today announced investment in Mera Kisan, an e-commerce startup.
He said Mahindra Univeg is a 60:40 joint venture between Mahindra Group's Mahindra Agri Solutions and Belgium-based Univeg (Greenyard Foods).
MeraKisan is an online shopping platform, which sources fresh vegetables and fruits directly from farmers and sell it to the customers.
"Our investment (minority shareholding) in MeraKisan will enable the farmers and the consumers to connect digitally and create a win-win situation for both farmers and customers," said Ashok Sharma, MD & CEO, Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd.
It focuses on developing fresh fruit supply chain in India and imports fruits to make high quality produce available to domestic consumers.
He added that Mahindra Agri Solutions interacts with farmers to improve their produce, quality and productivity by providing latest advances in farm technologies and agricultural know how.
"It also helps farmers by linking them to the market to provide better returns for their quality produce and thereby improving their lives," said Sharma.
Prashanth Patil, CEO-Designate of Mera Kisan, said that leveraging the digital platform, Mera Kisan will ensure delivery of high quality fruits and vegetables at the door step of the consumers.
With this platform, farmers will be benefiting as payments are done to the farmers upfront through online payment gateways, Patil added.
(REOPENS BCM22)
However, Mahindra Univeg did not disclose the amount they invested in MeraKisan.
The firm further said they have taken 33 per cent stake in the startup, which will focus on the Pune and Navi Mumbai markets initially and will try to scale the business in other parts.
It also said the company is sourcing fresh vegetables and fruits from 70 to 80 farmers from the Pune district and currently has customer base of 1,200 to 1,400 in Pune.
