Japanese startups eye indian agriculture business
Following the slowdown in world trade Japan's trade with India had also decreased.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan has sparked off renewed interest of Japanese businessmen and there are today over 1,1OO companies operating in India.
Following the slowdown in world trade Japan’s trade with India had also decreased. Among the companies coming are also three startups with five more in the pipeline.
They are primarily into food processing, waste management, automotive and internet of things ( IOT), said Naho Shigeta, MD of infoBRIDGE Holdings Group.
“Unfortunately with big Japanese companies decision making is slow. So we are dealing with startups. They are aggressive and speedy. They don’t have much financial investment but they can create new eco- system and also bring technology from outside to India,” Ms Shigeta said, adding that she strongly believes startups can create new businesses in India.
Among the startups are Agribuddy, which has apps for agriculture has tied up with Indian banks for investment of $ 1 million and will start operations by the end of September in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh.
They arrange for loans from the banks for farmers and buy their produce and export them to Japan.
The other is SenSprout which specialises in soil health and helps the farmer to increase his yield which in India is just 50 per cent.
The third is in an advanced stage of negotiations. There are huge opportunities for the export of cashew, sesame and shrimps from India among other agri and processed food products.
Presently, says Ms Shigeta, the largest import by Japan is in cashew where India tops ( 9,549 tonnes in 2014) followed by shrimp ( 167,000tonnes; second largest), sesame around 160,000 tonnes.