Hyderabad-based AgriTech platform Lab2Land has entered into a partnership with credit infrastructure provider FinBox to address credit crunch challenges of agri retailers. This association aims to disburse around Rs 40 crore digital credit to 5000 agri retailers.
“There are three main challenges when it comes to the agricultural value chain – the rising cost of inputs, gaps in knowledge, and lack of organised credit. Lab2Land is tackling these through its patented and affordable inputs, expert advisory services and – the final piece of the puzzle – digital credit powered by FinBox,” said Aditya Deshpande, CEO, Lab2Land.
Of the ~5000 retailers on the platform, around 250 already had access to credit lines through NBFCs. However, this journey was paperwork-intensive and required intervention from Lab2Land representatives. The platform sought to solve this by offering exclusive digital credit in a safe and secure manner by leveraging FinBox’s credit stack.
FinBox’s credit infrastructure integration allowed the platform to offer a highly scalable digital lending journey, in keeping with the growth of users on the platform. For the duration of March to May 2023, it distributed ~Rs 5 crore on its platform. The platform aims to disburse Rs 40 crores by September this year, driven by the onset of the kharif season.
“Agriculture remains a critical market under priority sector lending and FinBox is committed to serving this segment. Our partnership with Lab2Land will help us get closer to our vision of serving a variety of underserved markets meaningfully. Our end-to-end digital credit infrastructure offering has been designed for a superior lending – and borrowing – experience, no matter the market targeted,” said Rajat Deshpande, CEO, FinBox.
Lab2Land has built a user base of ~1.2 lakh farmers in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in 10 months since its launch. Its services can help farmers bring down costs by 189%. With its sights now set on Maharashtra and Karnataka, the platform can expect faster growth through digital lending powered by FinBox.