The Tiruchi-headquartered start-up E-Sandhai has raised funds from Madurai-based Nativelead, The Chennai Angels (TCA), AIC Raise and a few individual investors. The firm is also in the process of receiving funds from Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation Limited (TNIFMC) by this month-end.
TNIFMC is a manager of the SEBI-approved Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), which has been set up under the policy initiatives of the Tamil Nadu government in priority areas. It is promoted by the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board. E-Sandhai will be the first start-up to get funding under the Tamil Nadu Emerging Sector Seed Fund (TNESSF).
According to details provided by V. Chollin Selvan, founder and CEO of E-Sandhai, “Nativelead has given ₹1.18 crore, TCA has contributed ₹71 lakh, AIC Raise ₹25 lakh and the individual investors together have contributed ₹46 lakh.”
A senior government official, who is in charge of TNIFMC, confirmed that E-Sandhai would be given funding. “We will be making five investments in different start-ups by the end of January, and a formal announcement will come from Chief Minister M.K. Stalin,” he added.
The start-up intends to use the funds raised for foraying into newer geographies. “We have already forayed into Tiruchi and Perambalur, and our focus now is on Thanjavur, which should go live in the next few weeks,” Mr. Selvan said. Thiruvarur, Pudukkottai and Nagapattinam are next in the line.
E-Sandhai is an agri-tech company (B2B) that helps reduce wastage arising from inefficiencies in supply/demand and agri-produce supply chain, particularly in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. It intends to solve the supply/demand problem for farmers by predicting the price of fresh produce upfront with real-time data. The start-up delivers to hotels, retail shops and micro shops.
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