IFC-backed WayCool raises $40 mn led by 57 Stars Global
- ByStartupStory | June 23, 2022
Waycool Foods & Products Pvt Ltd, a B2B platform for food and agritech, has secured $40 million in an equity and debt round that was organised and managed by the US alternative investment company 57 Stars Global Innovation Fund. In 2022, the Chennai-based startup will receive funds for a second time. WayCool completed its Series D round in January, raising $117 million from investors including LightRock, LightBox, FMO, Lightsmith, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Redwood Equity, and Gawa Capital. The value of the fundraising effort was kept secret.
A global alternative investment organisation with a base in Washington, 57 Stars LLC focuses on high-growth industries propelled by technology advancement. According to a release from 57 Stars, “The investment marks the first transaction for 57 Stars’ Direct Impact Fund and the second investment for 57 Stars Global Innovation Fund 2 (GIF 2).”
“We believe that our investment in WayCool will have a large beneficial social and environmental impact at scale and will solve major issues in the food supply chain, where 30 per cent of food is thought to be wasted before it is consumed. Gene Pohren, co-founder and managing director of 57 Stars, said that this purchase gives our investors a stake in India’s top crop-tech firm with the ability to perform well.
The business raised Rs 227 crore in February 2021 through a combination of stock and loan financing, which was coordinated by venture capital firm Lightbox. Additionally investing in that round were early backers FMO and LGT Lightstone Aspada. It received Rs 57 crore in a structured debt investment round from the non-banking financial corporation (NBFC) Samunnati, RBL Bank, and venture debt business InnoVen Capital in December 2019.
Karthik Jayaraman, Sanjay Dasari, Vignesh Kumar Manogaran, and Sendhil Kumar Natarajan established WayCool in 2015. According to the startup, which works with more than 150,000 farmers and offers a full stack of products through a variety of channels to 100,000 customers, it distributes a wide variety of fresh food that is directly obtained. WayCool’s operating income increased by 40% in FY21 to Rs 382.3 crore, but losses increased by 53% to Rs 148.69 crore during the fiscal year that ended in March 2021.
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