UK agritech company Hectare connects critical parts of the food supply chain through digital services like SellMyLivestock and Graindex. The company has now raised US$20m (£16.6m) in Series A funding to accelerate the growth of its digital solutions. The funding round was led by existing and private investors. Previous funding in Hectare was raised via crowdfunding platform Seedrs.
The latest investment will be used to support Hectare’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) inventory, trading, logistics and market insights product development; and expansion into new international markets.
By directly connecting everyone in the supply chain through its digital solutions, Hectare is solving the invisible inefficiencies in the farm to factory gate supply chain.
More than 130,000 farm businesses use Hectare’s solutions, making it one of the largest global networks of agricultural businesses.
Hectare (the group) runs SellMyLivestock and Graindex:
Launched in 2014, SellMyLivestock enables farmers to sell livestock online to other farmers, and processors, saving farmers both time and money, while also improving animal welfare, biosecurity and provenance through digital paperwork and passporting.
In 2022, Hectare’s technology enabled farm businesses to optimise the trading of livestock, improving animal welfare and reducing the carbon footprint of the beef and sheep supply chain by 2.5m livestock miles.
Graindex is an online independent grain exchange. ‘The 21st Century equivalent of the Corn Exchange’ was launched in 2016 and it helps UK farmers to quickly and securely get a fair price for their combinable crops.
Hectare’s CEO Jamie McInnes was a founding partner on both SellMyLivestock and Graindex: “Our aim is to solve the invisible problems in the food supply chain by creating connected digital solutions that enable everyone to make small, practical changes – from sourcing grain more locally to digitising paper-based processes like invoicing – to help hit big goals.” he says. “Whether the focus is enhanced animal welfare or peace of mind on food sustainability and security, our vision is to create a connected farm to factory gate supply chain so crops, livestock and customers are looked after through sustainable agriculture.”
