Walmart and Flipkart jointly invest in agri-tech startup Ninjacart; Here's what it does

Ninjacart, a Bengaluru-based Business-to-Business (B2B) Agri-tech startup, has been invested in by retail giants Walmart and Flipkart in a joint strategic investment (amount unknown) to source fresh produce directly to their market outlets. 

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The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.

The partnership’s objective is to ensure better access to fresh produce for retailers and consumers alike in India and also to boost economic opportunities for farmers.

The CEO of Flipkart Group, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, told a popular news website, "Developing Flipkart Supermart over the past year, we have focused on creating the right infrastructure, supporting local farmers, producers and food processors, and building sustainability into the ecosystem, all while creating thousands of new jobs and bringing quality, convenience and value to consumers. In Ninjacart, we see a company that shares our values, our pioneering mindset and our commitment to tech-driven innovation that improves life in India." 

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It also helps in popularising NinjaCart, to expand its customer base and reach new cities. It was reported in August that Walmart had decided to invest around 50 million dollars in NinjaCart.

NinjaCart benefits more than 25,000 farmers by delivering more than 1,400 tonnes of produce every day to at least 50,000 stores. 

"We are excited that Flipkart and Walmart are joining us to make this vision a reality and showing confidence in our technology and business model. With their support, we see new possibilities to improve the lives of our farmers, retailers and restaurant partners," CEO and co-founder of Ninjacart, Thirukumaran Nagarajan told the news website. 

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The President and CEO of Walmart India, Krish Iyer told the website that "Ninjacart’s focus on direct-from-farm sourcing resonates well with Walmart’s commitment to supporting farmers in India. We are working towards our commitment of sourcing 25% of produce in our Best Price cash-and-carry stores directly from farmers by 2023. This would help accelerate market access for them and reduce transportation costs.”

(With inputs from ANI)