Temasek, Softbank Lead US$90M Series C Funding in Agritech Startup eFishery

TheIndonesia.id - Indonesia’s agritech startup eFishery has secured US$90 million in a Series C funding, co-led by Temasek, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and Sequoia Capital India. Existing investment firms Northstar Group, Go-Ventures, Aqua-Spark, and Wavemaker Partners also participated in this round of funding.

Co-founder and CEO of eFishery Gibran Huzaifah said the funding will help the company to further support national fishers and farmers through the advancement of its platform, digital products, and technology.

“This new funding will allow us to scale our impact, expand regionally, and achieve our target of being a leading aquaculture technology company by improving the livelihoods of the farmers that we empower,” Huzaifah said in a statement on Tuesday, January 11.

Among some of the technological developments, eFishery works by streamlining the fish and shrimp farming business in order to make the industry more efficient and sustainable.

“For example, our upstream technology, eFeeder, optimizes yield days and increases farmers’ production capacity by up to 26 percent while also optimizing feed efficiency by up to 30 percent through reducing time and labor costs” Huzaifah explained.

Investment director at SoftBank Investment Advisers Anna Lo said the firm is impressed with eFishery’s platform that can complement and optimize Indonesia’s rich natural resources, and she also believed that the startup’s impact will be global.

“Indonesia is one of the world’s largest producers of fish and we believe its aquaculture industry can play a meaningful role in feeding the world’s growing population,” Lo said. “We are delighted to be partnering with the eFishery team to support them to provide a reliable and sustainable supply of aquatic food products to Indonesia and beyond."

Similarly, Sequoia India also noted the massive potential of aquaculture in Indonesia, noting eFishery’s platform as “the most comprehensive and strategic model” for the market.

“With US$20 billion in market size, and a fragmented and complex supply chain, aquaculture is one of the largest and most attractive opportunities in Indonesia. That’s what makes this partnership with eFishery, the undisputed leader in the market, so exciting,” Sequoia India’s VP Aakash Kapoor said.

Launched in 2013, eFishery revolutionizes traditional farming methods and provides various solutions designed specifically to improve outcomes for fish and shrimp farmers. It offers an end-to-end platform providing farmers with access to technology, feed, financing, and markets.

It has deployed thousands of smart feeders, serving over 30,000 farmers across 24 provinces in Indonesia. And upon the fresh funding, it aims to acquire 1 million farmers in the next 3-5 years.