Aspada Invests in Arya Collateral

BANGALORE, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Aspada Investment Company has made an undisclosed investment in Noida-based Arya Collateral Warehousing Services Private Limited.

Arya provides a range of post-harvest agriculture value chain services to small hold farmers, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), banks, agro processors and corporate end-users in India. These services include aggregation, collateral management, professional warehousing and facilitation of financial and market linkages.

With Aspada's investment, Arya will extend its reach to small hold farmers and FPOs in primary markets not served by existing companies, and offer warehousing services as well as short term financing through partnerships with banks and NBFCs.  

Prasanna Rao, Managing Director, Arya, said, "Aspada has significant experience in investing in India's supply chain and agricultural logistics sectors. Their investment will allow us to scale significantly in the primary markets where the penetration of warehousing as well as availability of finance for post-harvest storage of commodities is very low."

Anand Chandra, Executive Director, Arya, said, "Over the next 24 months we will look to go deeper in underserved geographies, look to invest in post-harvest infrastructure and launch innovative financial products to increase the participation of small hold farmers and their institutions in the agricultural value chain."

Kushal Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer, Aspada, said, "The absence of storage infrastructure and the lack of availability of finance and market linkages in primary markets are among the biggest challenges in Indian agriculture. Arya is a key addition to Aspada's agriculture portfolio and will play a significant role in reducing wastage, managing the effects of volatile commodity markets on farmer producer organizations, and improving small farmer realizations."

About Arya Collateral Warehousing Services 

Arya Collateral Warehousing Services (Arya) provides a range of post-harvest services to various stakeholders across the agriculture value chain. These include collateral management, professional warehousing services (including aggregation, primary processing and storage) and financial and market linkages. Arya is unique in its execution ability to provide bundled financing and warehousing services for the difficult-to-reach and underserved smallholder and FPO markets of rural India. The push to deepen the customer base for integrated warehousing services is complemented by Arya's existing profitable lines serving corporate agricultural clients.

About Aspada Investment Company

The Aspada Investment Company is a holding company and venture capital investor with a significant commitment from the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF). The firm is an active investor in India, with investments across agricultural supply chains, logistics, financial services, education, and healthcare. Aspada also manages the portfolio of SONG, an early stage venture capital fund backed by the Soros Economic Development Fund, Omidyar Network and Google.

For more information, please visit: http://www.aspada.com

Media Contact:
Thomas Hyland
Co-founder and Partner
Aspada Investment Advisors Pvt. Ltd.
[email protected]
+91-98451 43530