DeHaat - The Startup that India needs.

Analysis of the largest full-stack Agri-Tech Startup.

In 2012, Shashank Kumar an IIT Delhi grad and ex-consultant found DeHaat in his native village in Bihar.

Shashank’s dream was to create an end-to-end solution for Indian farmers.

And DeHaat does exactly that.

Last year the company became the largest full-stack agri-tech startup in India.

It has raised $115M in a Series D round at a valuation of over $500M.

Also, in FY-21 it has registered a revenue of Rs 358 cr, 186% y-o-y growth.


Let’s analyze the reasons for the company’s success to date:

1. Solving a burning problem:

Agriculture is the largest sector in India, contributing 20% of GDP.

Over 50% of India’s population is still engaged in farming. Yet the sector is highly underdeveloped.

This is because of huge upfront investment, a broken supply chain, lack of standardization, and credible micro-financing options.

2. Tech-Stack (Product):

Dehaat has 3 different applications for its stakeholders.

- Farmers app: To buy/sell agri-products, micro-financing & crop advisory in vernacular language.

- Staff app: To manage the last-mile delivery.

- Office app: Backend tech operations & customer support

3. Full-stack model (Strategy):

DeHaat offers a complete solution to its farmers.

From agri-inputs to supply-chain management, crop advisory, market access, and micro-financing. DeHaat does it all.

4. Hub & Spoke model (Strategy):

DeHaat follows the Hub & Spoke model for a smooth supply chain.

Farmers are connected with DeHaat staff at spokes. They collect the crops and provide agri-inputs.

The staff at spokes are connected with DeHaat centers at hubs, who have access to the suppliers, bulk buyers, and end-consumers.

5. Acquisitions (Strategy):

DeHaat has made 3 acquisitions in the last 3 years to strengthen its offerings further.

- 2019: Vezamart (farm management) to boost its farmer networks.

- 2021: FarmGuide (B2B SaaS) to provide satellite-based insights to farmers.

- 2022: Helicrofter (marketplace) to further strengthen its agri-input services.

6. Strong Fundamentals:

The DeHaat team spent over 2 years just to realize the real problems that a farmer face on a daily basis.

At a time, they used to travel 250 km per day, jumping from village to village.

Also, the company was completely bootstrapped for the initial 6 years. This gave them the resilience to focus more on the customers rather than the valuation.


In spite of being early in the market, DeHaat currently combats with a no. of Agri startups across its value chain.

• Market Place: Faarms, Agrostar

• Supply chain: Ninja cart, WayCool

• Finance: Jai Kisan, Aye

The company has also registered a loss of Rs 54 cr in FY-21 (3x than FY-20).

With this being said, there is no doubt that DeHaat is many times ahead of any other players in the market.

The firm is currently operational in Bengal, Bihar, UP, and Odisha with 350K farmers and aims to bring its services to 5M farmers by 2024.

Will be interesting to see how the company will capitalize on the $24B Indian agriculture market from here.

Can DeHaat be the largest Indian Agri-Tech startup?

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