ThinkAg NEWS: ThinkAg's First AgClinic on Value Chain Finance

About AgClinic

AgClinic is a curated, closed door workshop designed to engage partners to discuss and evolve solutions to pressing problems in the food and Agri value chains. The goal of this AgClinic was to stir discussion around increasing access to value chain finance and saw participation from innovators (AgTech& FinTech), financial service providers, corporates, and foundations/multilateral agencies that actively participate across the value chain.

AgClinic on Value Chain Financing

ThinkAg’s first AgClinic on value chain finance on 9thMay received an overwhelming response with over 80 participants from across ag industry, finance and banking and startups. This event was held at NABARD’s conference room in partnership with Samunnati Finance. We were pleased to have corporate partners such as BASF, Mahindra, Srinivasa Farms, Corteva Agri Science Bayer; Banks and financial institutions such as RBL, Yes Bank, Rabo Bank, DBS, Ananya Finance and many startups.

The event was opened by the Farm Services Development Department and NABKISAN. Both departments spoke about their initiatives and development with regards to financing the chain. Knowledge partner Samunnati presented their business model and the nature of work done across the ag value chain. ThinkAg corporate partner Bayer, also made a presentation on how they can work with innovators to help small holder farmers along with providing case studies on Bayer’s work in Ukraine and Argentina. NCML( National Collateral Management Services) took the group through various challenges and opportunities of running a collateral management business.

We had three startups, Farmart, Agrostar and Cropin also talk about their business models and the work done so far. The discussion ended with the following points by various stakeholders in the room.

A detailed knowledge paper on the subject will be presented soon on the details of the discussions which include challenges and opportunities on value chain finance.

Catch us at Future Food Asia

The Future Food Asia Platform aims to accelerate open innovation in AgriTech and FoodTech across Asia Pacific, with the goal to catalyze and align an ecosystem to cope with the challenges of food.

ThinkAg Director Hemendra Mathur is on the Panel Discussion: If you ate today, thank a smallholder farmer: The challenge of innovating for small holder farmers