Eratani, an Indonesia-based agri-tech start-up company, said Thursday it has officially received initial funding of 23 billion Rupiah ($1.6 million) from 29 investors led by Trihill Capital, followed by Kenangan Fund and Kopital Network.

Other investors involved in this funding including Edward Tirtanata as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kopi Kenangan, James Prananto, Benedicto Haryono as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Koinworks, John Marco Rasjid as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sociolla, Vidit Agrawal as Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gaji Gesa, and several other prominent angel investors, Eratani said in a statement.

It said that this support proves that investors believe in Eratani and how they can bring breakthroughs to the industry and further promote the growth of the agricultural sector. Eratani will continue to focus on all agricultural processes, from upstream to downstream.

According to the statement, the fresh funds will be used to build the ecosystem and supply chain; strengthen expansion and penetration throughout Java, Sumatra, and Kalimantan; and develop the Eratani super app, a high-tech platform, specifically for Indonesian farmers.

Eratani’s super app was created to answer the needs of farmers through agricultural digitization, among others by providing easy access to capital, education on land management, agricultural production facilities, and harvest management. This plan continues to strengthen Eratani’s mission to improve the welfare of farmers in Indonesia.

Eratani is an agri-tech company that has a mission to prosper Indonesian farmers by providing easy access to all agricultural processes from upstream to downstream, such as farmer capital, agricultural production facilities (saprotan) needs, and crop processing for domestic farmers. It was founded on June 11, 2021 by three Co-Founders, namely Andrew Soeherman (Chief Executive Officer of Eratani), Kevin Juan Tanggo Laksono (Chief Operating Officer of Eratani), and Angles Gani (Chief Product Officer of Eratani).

It was built on the vision of becoming the no.1 agri-tech platform in Indonesia by building a strong agricultural ecosystem from upstream to downstream, starting from financing, and procurement of goods, to processing and distribution of crops, and providing convenience for farmers to gain access to technological support. to improve the lives of farmers in Indonesia in the future.

“Since the beginning of Eratani’s presence, we have continued to try to answer the Indonesian farmer’s needs, as well as help overcome the challenges faced. One of the solutions we provide is on providing easy access to all processes in the agricultural industry, upstream to downstream. That is why the development of this super app is the key to accelerating the availability of a trusted digital ecosystem for farmers,

“We are optimistic that more farmers can be empowered. With the trust of investors, we want to expand in Java, recruit potential talent, develop our technology and make it a modern, adaptable, and user-friendly application for farmers throughout Indonesia,” said Andrew.

According to the statement, the agricultural sector is still the main pillar in increasing the prosperity and welfare of Indonesian people, especially the farmers themselves. Data from BPS in 2020 shows that 46.30 percent of the main source of income data, namely the number of households classified as poor in Indonesia, most of them came from the agricultural sector.

Currently, Eratani has more than 5,000 fostered farmers spread across West Java, Central Java, East Java, and D.I. Yogyakarta. Every fostered farmer who is a member of the Eratani program can enjoy various services ranging from easy access to financing, and the need for agricultural production facilities, to harvest management.

“Being the best partner for Indonesian farmers is our main goal. That’s why we continue to build and advance agricultural ecosystems with digitization and transparency in every process. In the future, Eratani wants to collaborate more with food business entities to improve national food security and assist the government in encouraging equitable growth in the agricultural sector throughout Indonesia,” said Andrew.

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