ESG First Fund, managed by Aavishkaar Capital (Aavishkaar), announced its first investment of Rs 16 Crores ($1.95 million) from the ESG First Fund into INI Farms.

ESG First Fund is a $250 Million fund focused on investing in Asia and Africa with the mandate of generating superior Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) outcomes and commercially viable financial returns alongside positive social impact. The Fund was established with the primary objective of improving these areas, especially the supply chains serving the European markets.
Founded in 2009, by Purnima and Pankaj Khandelwal, INI Farms is an exporter of fruit and vegetable crops with large-scale pan-India operations spanning contract farming, aggregation, supply chain management and serving food retailers globally. 

According to a company statement, INI Farms is currently working with AgroStar, an agritech company, which has more than five million users, and a retail network of 2000+ stores. 

Addressing the fund-raising event, Purnima Khandelwal, CEO and co-founder of INI Farms said, “The agriculture story in India is poised for a multi-fold growth. We believe that large platforms providing end-to-end services to the farmers from advisory and inputs to output offtake is going to drive this transformation. This investment will provide us with a great opportunity to grow multi-fold with expansion into the entire agriculture output business and leveraging our strong supply chain capabilities.”

Commenting on the investment, Abhishek Mittal, Partner at Credit at Aavishkaar Capital said, “We are excited to invest in INI Farms and support them in their next phase of growth as it expands its product offering and geographical reach. INI’s Farms continued commitment to delivering export-quality fruits & vegetables produced in an environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive manner and to exacting global standards, sets it apart to meet the growing demands of today's conscientious consumer. INI, along with Agrostar, is well-placed to meet the demands of global markets while empowering farmers at the back end.