Arya.ag, one of India’s largest agritech companies, regularly raises rounds in oversubscription. It has continued to be profitable, even as international crop prices have taken a nosedive. In 2013, entrepreneurs Prasanna Rao, Anand Chandra, and Chattanathan Devarajan started Arya.ag. Since then, the company has become an entrenched part of the agricultural landscape, providing essential storage and lending infrastructure to farmers across the country.
Each year, Arya.ag warehouses around 3 billion dollars’ worth of grain. This staggering number is a testament to the company’s significant monopoly power in the farming sector. It demonstrates the sincerity of their commitment to support farmers. The company guarantees or helps finance almost $1.5 billion in loans each year, showcasing its pivotal role in improving access to agricultural financing.
Arya.ag’s smart approach to risk management is key to its positive impact on agribusiness lending, with less than 1% of its loans qualifying as bad loans. Meanwhile, gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of the company have continued to be below 0.5%, showcasing strong financial prudence and management of credit risk. This is especially essential for an industry that is frequently vulnerable to price competition and market volatility.
The firm 134 issues more than ₹110 billion (about $1.2 billion) in yearly loans to farmers. This critical assistance lets producers get back to focusing on running their businesses and making investments that will benefit them well into the future. As a result of Arya.ag’s digital platform, it can approve loans in under five minutes and disbursements are handled nearly all digitally. From the outset, this simple process has greatly reduced any barriers to access, so that hundreds of thousands of farmers can receive needed funds as quickly as possible.
Along with impact, in terms of revenue, Arya.ag has been growing at an impressive pace. It produced a projected net revenue of ₹4.5 billion (~$50 million) for the fiscal year ending March 2025. In the current financial year, its first-half revenue jumped more than 30% compared to the year prior, hitting ₹3 billion ($33.3 million). The company’s last recorded profit after tax was ₹340 million, or more than $3.78 million, last year. So far this year, it has been even more impressive, up a staggering 39%.
Arya.ag has a widely diversified revenue base. It’s storage business that makes up majority of total revenue, around 50-55%, with the finance sector bringing in 25-30%. This careful balance has helped the enterprise stay more nimble, even in the most punishing of market environments.
Arya.ag has outgrown two offices and now is hiring its 1,200+ full-time ground staff to help scale. This highly accomplished team is committed to advancing the company’s rapidly growing global footprint. The company intends to deploy its new capital to scale its technology deployments aggressively. They want to increase the number of smart farm centers and distribute more digital tools directly to farmers. This pragmatic play will improve the efficiency of their services and open the proverbial floodgates of opportunity for farmers to access resources that directly benefit their operations.
A representative from Arya.ag commented on the company’s lending strategy, stating, “Because your lending is completely secured against commodities, it will never happen that the prices will fall by 90%. You already have a margin of 30%, and with your mark to market, you’ve been able to control your NPAs and defaults.”
The focus on technology and efficiency positions Arya.ag favorably in the competitive agritech landscape, especially as it continues to innovate and respond to the needs of farmers. By emphasizing digital solutions and efficient service delivery, Arya.ag enhances its value proposition while ensuring that farmers have access to essential financial resources.
