Update: Jai Kisan raises $50 Mn in ongoing Series B round

UPDATE: Rural fintech startup Jai Kisan has raised $50 million in equity and debt in the ongoing Series B round.

Original story follows:

Rural fintech startup Jai Kisan has raised a fresh financing of Rs 142 crore or $18 million in its Series B led by existing and new investors. This is the first funding round for the Mumbai-based startup in 2022.

The board at Jai Kisan has passed a special resolution to allot 5,266 compulsory cumulative preference shares (CCPS) at an issue price of Rs 2,70,133 per share to raise Rs 142 crore or $18 million, regulatory filings with ROC show.

Existing backer Blume Ventures spearheaded this round with Rs 31.20 crore whereas Mirae Asset Venture, Unitary Fund and Cephalopod Teknik Fund participated with Rs 23.7 crore, Rs 19.5 crore and Rs 13.4 crore respectively.

Fintech fund GMO, Yara Growth Ventures and DG Lab Fund invested Rs 15.58 crore each while other VC’s and individuals collectively invested Rs 7.71 crore. The Series B round appears to be an ongoing one and Jai Kishan is likely to mop up more funds.

As per Fintrackr’s estimates, the company has been valued around $180-$190 million post allotment. Previously, the company had raised $30 million in Series A in May 2021 followed by a $3.3 million debt fund in October.

Founded in 2017 by Arjun Ahluwalia and Adriel Maniego, Jai Kisan is a fintech company (rural-focused Neo Bank) which offers credit for transactions in online and offline rural commerce environments to individuals and rural businesses.

Jai Kisan partners with equipment dealers, agriculture retailers, collection centers and market linkage platforms to directly provide credit to farmers, working in the agriculture, poultry and dairy value chain. Last year, it also launched Bharat Khata which offers a digital ledger for rural businesses.

Jai Kisan is yet to file its annual financial statements for FY22, the rural fintech company has recorded a revenue of Rs 4.96 crore in FY21. Jai Kisan posted a loss of Rs 3.36 crore during the financial year ended 2021.

Around 100 agritech startups raised close to $1.33 billion across 139 deals between January 2020 and June 2022, according to Entrackr’s data tracking platform Fintrackr. This includes around 37 deals worth $155 million in 2020, 58 deals worth $636 million in 2021 and 44 deals worth $539 million as of July 10, 2022. A couple of more startups including Veg Route and Vegrow also joined the list this month.