The FaaS service of Beleaf is available in over 180 retail outlets in Greater Jakarta, eight online channels, and a range of restaurants.
Heaptalk, Jakarta — Agritech startup Beleaf Farms has seized a new fund worth US$6.85 million in a Series A round led by Alpha JWC Ventures and is backed by Openspace and several strategic angel investors. This round represents a doubling down for this venture capital firm, following the previous funding in 2022 worth US$2.2 million.
This latest Series A funding will enable the farming-as-a-service (SaaS) startup to expand its farming network to numerous new areas, covering Bali, Medan, and Lembang. The startup will also set up R&D farms in those locations as the base to launch its FaaS network across the country. In addition, the funding will be managed to double its supply chain and commercial division to improve operating efficiency and broaden its sales footprint to new countries.
Leading this investment round, the Partner of Alpha JWC Ventures, Eko Kurniadi, recognized Beleaf’s end-to-end offering empowers farmers to achieve higher productivity and produce quality, resulting in better economics and farming experience. As Beleaf continues to surpass its growth and profitability milestones, Eko firmly believes in the startup potential to revolutionize the agriculture sector in the long run.
“We are thrilled to reaffirm our unwavering support to Amrit and his team through this Series A funding. We look forward to witnessing Beleaf’s continued growth and positive impact that they will create in Indonesia and beyond,” added Eko.
Beleaf has expanded its offerings to encompass various products grown through open-field farming. Beleaf’s produce is now sold domestically as well as for export. It is currently available in 4 countries, including Singapore, to enter another six countries by the end of 2024.
Powered by big data and IoT to enable localized precision farming, Beleaf aims to offer end-to-end service as a complete FaaS product, spanning across the input, farm technology, agronomy support, and offtaking, which connects farms, agronomists, and retailers in one integrated system.
The FaaS service is also available in over 180 retail outlets in Greater Jakarta, eight online channels, and a range of restaurants. According to the company, FaaS service is already fast, solving several urgent challenges in the sector. Despite being an agricultural country, Indonesia’s potential remains unoptimized, and its reliance on agricultural imports remains high.
The Founder and CEO of Beleaf, Amrit Lakhiani, stated, “We quickly realized that instead of building more of our farms, we were sitting on something more broadly applicable and powerful. We could use our expertise and the technology we had created to bring the same advantage to existing farmers and increase the collective quality and productivity of the Indonesian agricultural industry facing several developmental hurdles, all while showcasing the best local products to foreign markets via export,”
Investors recognize the speed at which Beleaf has expanded its business operations. With a current network of 145 farmers, the business aims to empower at least 2,000 farmers by the end of 2024. The FaaS program has already yielded promising results, increasing the yield and income of many farmers, as evidenced by the successful distribution of 700 tons of produce in May 2023.
