Semaai, which is building a full-stack tech solution for Indonesia’s agriculture sector, is on a mission to enhance the livelihood of millions of farmers and agri-retailers across the country.
Agriculture in Indonesia is a $100 billion industry that comprises 13.5% of the nation’s GDP, and is powered by more than 40 million farmers and small businesses in rural areas. Much of the farming workforce is made up of small scale farmers, and toko tanis, which are agri-retailers that supply farming inputs and products to farmers. Despite their contribution to Indonesia’s economy, these farmers and toko tanis find it extremely difficult to take advantage of the growing middle class demand for diversified food products. This is due to the fragmented and complex agricultural supply chains in Indonesia, which leads to opaque pricing, lack of access to affordable farming inputs, and a huge mismatch in supply and demand.
Semaai aims to address such systemic issues in the industry by offering a comprehensive platform for the agriculture community, with an initial focus on farming inputs, such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and farming tools. Semaai will also enable toko tanis to function as collection centers and trading hubs for the broader outputs of crops produced. Finally, Semaai will be a knowledge hub providing customized consultancy and as well as access to productivity tools such as soil testing technology.
Semaai was founded in April 2021 by Muhammad Yoga Anindito, Abhishek Gupta and Gaurav Batra. Yoga, who previously ran his own agri-input distributorship, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Physics from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and a Master’s Degree in Water Resource Engineering Management from the University of Stuttgart. Abhishek, who comes from a farming family, has worked with the Indonesian, Australian and Indian governments, and the World Bank, on agriculture and rural development projects for over 15 years; he holds a Master’s from Columbia University and an undergraduate degree from St. Stephen’s College. Gaurav, who holds a Bachelor of IT from NSIT in Delhi, is a third time founder and CTO, with senior tech and advisory roles in multiple startups.
*Angel Investors: Harshet Lunani, Nipun Mehra and Prashant Pawar