Hectar Global driving innovation in Agri-Trade

Exclusive Interview with Mr. Sibhi Kumaran, Co-Founder, CBO, Hectar Global

11 January 2024, New Delhi: Hectar Global is an agri-tech startup based in Chennai. The startup successfully secured a seed funding of 2.1 million dollars, and are in the midst of the second round of funding which has been instrumental in fueling the company’s growth and expansion.

Hectar Global has quickly established itself in the agri-trade industry. Aiming to be at the forefront of the sector’s digital revolution, digitizing intricate cross-border supply chain operations, the company’s platform increases efficiency, transparency, and sustainability making global trading as easy as e-commerce.

We spoke to Mr. Sibhi Kumaran, Co-Founder, CBO, Hectar Global to understand how they have planned the trajectory with 2.1 million dollars of seed fund and what is to be expected in the coming years.

Could you provide an overview of Hectar Global’s journey since its establishment in 2023? How has the company positioned itself as a pioneer in the agri-trade industry and what unique value does it bring to the market?

Since our inception, we have grown from being a single-origin exporter to a multi-origin, multi-destination player. We have established direct operations in 5 geographies and have made shipments in over 15 commodities across South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. While we are in the traditional industry of agri trade, we are driving innovation and building cutting-edge technology to solve major pain points for various participants in the agri commodity supply chain, thereby making trades more efficient and transparent.

Hectar Global aims to digitize cross-border supply chain operations in the agriculture sector. Can you explain how your platform increases efficiency, transparency, and sustainability in global trading? What specific features or technologies enable this transformation?

Cross-border supply chain operations are complex with a lot of moving parts such as price fluctuations, freight scheduling, and multiple documentation requirements. Our platform provides a simple and seamless way for global buyers to procure agri commodities across borders. Buyers get access to live commodity prices on a delivered basis, as well as the ETA of the proposed consignments. This enables them to make informed purchase decisions. Through our order management dashboard, buyers gain end-to-end visibility on their shipments, from procurement to delivery, along with easy access to quality reports and documentation from a single place.

How has this funding of 2.1 million dollars been instrumental in fueling Hectar Global’s growth and expansion? Are there any specific areas or initiatives that you have prioritized with this funding?

Our focus, with a seed round, was to rapidly expand into new geographies and product categories while building the tech to optimize trade ops. Towards this, the 2.1 million dollars raised has enabled us to build our core team comprising of seasoned traders and technology experts, establish direct operations in 5 geographies, and expand our product and customer portfolio. Essentially, we have set a strong base that can propel further expansion of both our physical and digital infrastructure.

As you are currently in the midst of the second round of funding, what are your strategic plans for the future? How do you envision utilizing the additional funding to further enhance Hectar Global’s platform and expand your market reach?

Our long-term goal is to provide buyers with direct access to farm gates across the globe and enable seamless movement of food cross-border. To get there, we strongly believe in leveraging technology to aid rapid expansion across geographies and commodities. Any additional funding that we raise in the future will be deployed towards building direct operations in strategic markets, expanding our tech capabilities to facilitate efficient trades, and hiring stellar leaders across domains to handle such expansion.

In the rapidly evolving agri-tech landscape, what are the key challenges and opportunities that Hectar Global anticipates in the coming years? How do you plan to stay ahead of the competition and maintain your position as a leader in the industry?

Agri Commodities trade is prone to frequent landscape shifts. Climate change, crop failures, geopolitical issues, and trade regulations are causing increasing supply shocks, making procuring cross-border challenging. At Hectar Global, we are building capabilities to solve these pain points. With advanced data analytics and machine learning algorithms, we anticipate price differential between markets, analyze trends, and forecast market movements. We provide actionable insights to make intelligent, data-backed decisions on trades. As more advanced technologies such as AI and blockchain develop, we are looking to integrate them in the context of global agricultural trade to make it efficient, transparent, and sustainable. We are not looking to just participate in the market but actively seek to drive innovation that can transform the industry.

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