YES BANK launches program to enable food and agritech startups

YES BANK announced the launch of an annual startup enabler program, YES BANK Agri Infinity, which seeks to co-develop digital financial solutions for the food and agriculture ecosystem by mentoring entrepreneurial ventures in the field.

As part of the agri-fintech enabler program, early as well as growth stage startups interested in exploring tech-enabled financial innovations in the agri space are invited to apply with their proposals. Those meeting the eligibility criteria will receive the guidance and support necessary to develop their solutions and apply them across the agricultural value chain.

Through the initiative, a select cohort of startups will not only receive mentoring by veteran bankers for experiential co-development, but also get access to YES BANK’s digital banking infrastructure and network, collaborative opportunities to pilot new solutions and fundraising advisory.

Commenting on the launch, Prashant Kumar, MD & CEO, YES BANK, said, “Fintech innovations in agribusiness are central to advancing sustainable growth of the Indian agri-food industry. By facilitating the exchange of knowledge and development of tech-enabled financial solutions for scalable agribusiness models, our program aims to open a door for entrepreneurs to a thriving innovation ecosystem. The learning and collaborative opportunity built into the program will work towards helping the participants build and test their solutions in the market, with subsequent support on scaling the solutions.”

Open to applications now, the enabler program calls for an expression of interest from agritech startups that are working on financial innovations, pivoting into agri-fintech, or looking at prototyping and rolling out fintech solutions across the food and agriculture value chain.

The program will last up to six months, based on the maturity and readiness of the solution. It will culminate in a demo day that will explore the potential for partnered engagements for scale-up.