Ergos: Grainbanking simplified
Year: 2012, Bengaluru, Karnataka
Founders: Praveen Kumar, Kishor Kumar Jha
Funding: $32.2M early April 2025
Investors: Aavishkaar Capital, Trifecta Capital, British International Investment (BII), Chiratae Ventures, Abler Nordic.
Introduction
Ergos is reshaping India’s rural post-harvest economy with its innovative “Grainbank” model. Founded with a mission to give small and marginal farmers greater control over their harvest, Ergos offers a first-of-its-kind, tech-enabled grain storage and finance solution right at the farm gate. With operations in Bihar, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, the Grainbank network allows farmers to store even small quantities of produce, digitize it as a tradable asset, and access instant credit through banking partners. More than just storage, Ergos gives farmers flexibility to sell when prices are right, thus eliminating distress sales and enabling better income realization.
Tackling Agricultural Challenges
Smallholder farmers in India face a recurring post-harvest dilemma—sell their grain immediately at harvest time (when prices are lowest) or suffer losses due to lack of storage. Most don’t have access to reliable warehousing, financial liquidity, or market insights. As a result, they are forced to sell at low prices to middlemen, often undermining months of hard work. Ergos solves this by offering an integrated platform combining warehousing, credit, and market linkage—all tailored for farmers at the last mile. This not only prevents income loss but also strengthens the post-harvest value chain, a traditionally under-served part of Indian agriculture.
Key Offerings
- Grainbank Warehousing: Decentralized, farm-gate storage hubs that accept even small quantities of grain.
- Digital Grain Assets: Stored grains are digitized and aggregated, providing traceability and liquidity.
- Credit Enablement: Farmers can borrow against stored grain using collateral-free loans from partner NBFCs and banks.
- Smart Market Access: With no pressure to sell immediately, farmers use real-time pricing data to sell at optimal market rates.
- Grain Quality Management: Scientific storage conditions ensure preservation of grain quality, reducing post-harvest losses.
- Digital Platform Access: A mobile-first interface lets farmers monitor grain, check prices, and initiate transactions remotely.
Real Impact
Ergos is delivering measurable change where it matters most—on farmer incomes, storage loss reduction, and financial access. With over 200 Grain Bank locations operational and 160,000+ farmers already onboarded, the platform is enabling rural communities to transition from survival selling to strategic marketing. Farmers using Ergos services have reported income increases of 30–35% annually, primarily due to reduced post-harvest losses and the ability to sell when market conditions are favorable. By digitizing grain assets and linking them to formal credit, Ergos is also expanding financial inclusion in regions where traditional banking services often fail to reach.
The company’s FY22 revenue jumped to ₹134.6 crore, a significant rise from ₹40.81 crore in FY21—highlighting both market need and rapid adoption. With a target to reach 2 million farmers by 2025, Ergos is not just building infrastructure—it’s building a scalable ecosystem that improves rural livelihoods.
Success Story
Consider Rakesh, a wheat farmer in Nalanda, Bihar. Every year, he was forced to sell his produce right after harvest due to lack of storage and urgent financial needs. But after registering with a local Ergos Grainbank, he stored his wheat securely, tracked prices through the app, and took a small loan against the stored grain to meet his expenses. Two months later, wheat prices rose by ₹200 per quintal. Rakesh sold his crop at the new price, earning ₹24,000 more than he would have previously. For farmers like Rakesh, control over timing, storage, and credit is life-changing.
Lessons for Agri-Startups
Ergos offers several powerful lessons for new AgriTech ventures looking to drive change at the grassroots:
- Build for the Bottom of the Pyramid: Micro-storage and micro-finance solutions work when tailored for smallholder needs.
- Asset-Backed Finance Works: Transforming produce into digital assets allows for smarter, safer, and faster credit access.
- Physical + Digital = Scalable: Combining on-ground infrastructure with digital interfaces creates trust and reach.
- Empower, Don’t Displace: The platform empowers farmers to make better decisions—it doesn’t replace traditional roles but enhances them.
- Data-Driven Timing: Grainbank lets farmers turn market insights into income opportunities by selling at the right time.
Stay Informed with Focus Agritech
Ergos is more than a grain storage startup—it’s a rural empowerment engine helping farmers store smart, sell smart, and earn more. Learn from this inspiring model and many others in our Free Agritech Insights series. Stay ahead with the Focus Agritech newsletter—your trusted source for India’s agri-innovation stories.Explore more such stories, insights, and opportunities in the agritech ecosystem.
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