Dairy foods company Milk Mantra on Friday said US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has committed US$ 10 million (over Rs 76 crore) for structured debt financing to the company.
DFC has also approved US$ 3,71,000 (about Rs 2.8 crore) in technical assistance to support the company’s agriculture extension services and ethical milk sourcing programme, according to a statement.
“The main focus of this would be to build out Milk Mantra’s digital financial services platform for its network of farmers. This platform will drive financial inclusion for farmers, especially women farmers,” it added.
There are nearly 100 million dairy farmers in India with a significant proportion being women.
The company was founded in August 2009 by the former director of Tetley, Srikumar Misra, along with Rashima Misra and started operations in 2012. Its milk sourcing network has grown to over 60,000 farmers. The company said it has scaled its revenue from US$ 2 million in 2012-13 to US$ 32 million in 2019-20, and reaches more than 3 lakh households daily. The company operates in Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand.
Milk Mantra has raised US$ 25 million in venture capital funding over four rounds from investors like Eight Roads (previously Fidelity Growth Partners), Neev Fund, and Aavishkar VC.
“At Milk Mantra, we align with DFC’s focus on development impact. We have developed an ethical sourcing model that looks to revitalise rural economies, increase farmers’ yields, and provide farmers, their families, and their communities with growth opportunities while we scale up a mass-premium food brand that’s nourishing the lives of consumer families,” Srikumar Misra, Founder, Milk Mantra said.
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