Semaai, an Indonesia-based agricultural technology firm, recently obtained bridge funding in an equity raise led by Accion Venture Lab, a unit of US-based nonprofit Accion, and XA Network, a Singapore-based venture capital firm, with ongoing investors Beenext and Surge increasing their exposure to Semaai. Although the amount invested by each party has not been released, the goal of the capital injection has been billed as expanding Semaai’s product offerings to farmers and agricultural retailers in Indonesia. In particular, Semaai plans to boost its provision of digital advisory services and develop an app facilitating access to locally sourced farming inputs such as seed and fertilizer. The firm offers a triumvirate of services for agricultural micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs): (1) a digital marketplace for agricultural inputs; (2) access to produce markets; and (3) agricultural advisory services.
Established in 2021, Semaai aims to assist “Indonesian farmers to improve their livelihoods.” With this latest funding round, the firm has raised equity totaling USD 2.9 million. The retailers on Semaai’s digital marketplace serve 2.6 million farmers across 3,000 villages on the island of Java.
Founded in 1961, Accion is a nonprofit that seeks to alleviate poverty by offering services such as microenterprise loans and business training. Accion created Accion Venture Lab in 2011 to serve as its “seed-stage investment arm.” The mission of the investment vehicle is to support “technology and [other] new approaches that help underserved people and small businesses benefit from the world’s formal economy.” The majority of Accion Venture Lab’s 54 investees – as of 2023 – are in the microfinance and financial technology sectors.
Founded in 2019, XA Network invests in technology companies in Southeast Asia and assists them with business strategy, product development and fundraising.
Founded in 2015, Beenext is a Singapore-based venture capital firm that invests in technology companies in Asia and the US.
Surge is an incubator program of US-based venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, which is active in Asia and the US and reports assets under management totaling USD 85 billion as of 2022. The goal of Surge is to assist startups in India and Southeast Asia, including with up to USD 3 million of capital investment per participant plus “workshops, global immersion trips and support from a community of exceptional founders.”
By Vaughn Rajah, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Accion press release
https://www.accion.org/indonesian-agtech-startup-semaai-closes-a-bridge-funding-round-bringing-total-raised-to-us2-9-million
Semaai homepage
https://www.semaai.com
Accion homepage
http://accion.org
XA Network homepage
https://xanetwork.co
Beenext homepage
https://www.beenext.com
Surge homepage
https://www.surgeahead.com
Sequoia homepage
https://www.sequoiacap.com
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