KiVi

Operating under Agrosperity Tech Solutions Pvt Ltd, KiVi (Kisan Vikas) is an agri-fintech startup founded in 2021 by Joby CO, Manoj Ramaswamy, Padmakumar K, Salil Nair, and Rajendra Kumar. The company is an incubatee of IIT Madras Research Park. The founding team combines extensive experience in rural lending, agribusiness, technology, and finance. Joby CO, the CEO, previously served as the CEO of a rural financial services provider, while other co-founders have held leadership roles in micro-banking and agri-commerce.

KiVi provides a 'phygital' (physical plus digital) platform designed to improve access to credit, commerce, and distribution for India's farmgate ecosystem, which includes farmers and rural agri-entrepreneurs like input retailers and output aggregators. The company aims to address challenges such as seasonal cash flows and the lack of formal income or land ownership proof, which have traditionally limited access to formal credit for farmers. The platform offers services including input supply, agronomy advisory, buyer aggregation, and financial services. Its underwriting method assesses a farmer's credit profile, farming history, crop characteristics, commodity prices, and weather patterns to create structured credit solutions.

The business model connects farmers with lending institutions, such as PSU banks, and corporate commodity buyers, facilitating loans and trade finance for crops like paddy, wheat, and maize. KiVi operates through a franchisee network that provides last-mile transaction capabilities, combining local expertise with its technology platform. Currently operational in districts within Tamil Nadu and Bihar, the company has enabled over 1,500 farmers to access credit and has onboarded multiple lending partners and corporate buyers. After securing ₹15 crore in a seed funding round in late 2023, KiVi plans to use the capital to enhance its technology, expand its physical presence to other southern states, and obtain an NBFC license to further scale its lending operations.

Keywords: agri-fintech, phygital platform, rural credit, farmer finance, supply chain finance, agricultural loans, farmgate ecosystem, kisan vikas, agribusiness, commodity trading, last-mile delivery, financial inclusion, agronomy services, Indian agriculture, MSME loans, rural entrepreneurs, IIT Madras Research Park, Agrosperity Tech Solutions, trade finance, crop loans