Indian agri supply chain startup WayCool Foods raises $7.8 million in debt from RBL Bank, others

Chennai-based agri-tech startup WayCool Foods and Products has raised $7.8 million in debt funding from Samunnati, RBL Bank and InnoVen Capital. The company will use this funding to meet its working capital needs and to boost automation in the existing distribution centres and warehouses. WayCool Foods plans to achieve 70 percent digital and mechanical automation across all distribution units by mid-2021, in turn improving process flow, efficiency, and eliminating error-prone mundane activities.

This follows the company’s debt financing round of $5.5 million which was guaranteed by United States International Development Finance Corporation (USIDFC) and financed by IndusInd Bank earlier this year. WayCool also closed a Series C equity funding round of $32 million led by Lightbox earlier this year.

In a press statement shared by WayCool, Karthik Jayaraman, CEO, said “Samunnati and InnoVen capital have been our long-term partners in growth, and the present funding lines are a natural evolution of this partnership. We welcome RBL Bank to our platform. The innovative instruments that we are developing in partnership with RBL Bank will free the business from working capital as a growth limiter.”

WayCool was founded in 2015 by Karthik Jayaraman and Sanjay Dasari. It distributes farm-sourced fruits, vegetables, dairy and other products to local shops and modern retail outlets. WayCool procures, processes and distributes fresh produce, staples and dairy products, servicing over 16,000 clients across South India. The company operates a “soil-to-sale” model, engaging with around 50,000 farmers in more than 50 regions across India through a direct supply chain model.

WayCool counts Lightbox, LGT Lightstone Aspada, and FMO among its investors and has raised debt in the past from Caspian Impact Investment and Northern Arc Capital. The company plans to accelerate profitability and improve its capital-efficient model by continuing to invest in technology and automation across the value chain.