Suminter, an Indian based B2B supply chain management company for organic agricultural products, has raised USD 53m in funding from Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure and IFU. The investment will help Suminter to further expand its operations and provide part exit to existing investors Nexus and Capricorn Investment Group.
India is one of the world’s largest producers of organic agricultural products[1] and fastest growing due to favorable climate conditions, high yields of organic products and supportive regulatory framework. Global brands have been consistently increasing the use of organic products to meet their sustainability targets. With the Government of India’s thrust on sustainable agriculture, we believe businesses such as Suminter will play a critical role in increasing organic agriculture practices in India.
Suminter is already an integral supply chain partner and works with 250+ brands spread across 20+ countries in the Americas and European regions including several of the world’s largest consumer brands for supply of products. The company sources, processes and exports organic and genetically modified (GM) free products such as soybean, cotton, coconut, spices, oilseeds and sugar. Producers are small-holder farmers which Suminter assists in converting to certified organic cultivation. Currently, Suminter has a farmer base of about 90,000+ and 175,000+ hectares under organic cultivation, primarily from India, Philippines, and Uganda. The capital raise will support Suminter’s ambition to double the number of farmers and hectares in coming years.
Suminter is focused on triple bottom line benefits: Economic – market access for small farmers, better yield & pricing and low input costs; Environmental – elimination of chemicals, reduced water requirement; Social – fairtrade practices, support for farming communities. The company has been recognized with several national awards and recognition for its market leadership in key commodities.
IFU’s investment is made on behalf of the Danish SDG Investment Fund, which is backed by large Danish pension funds and private investors.
“We are delighted to welcome Morgan Stanley and IFU as partners and look forward to accelerating our global leadership in the sustainable agriculture space. Suminter continues to expand its supply chain presence in the Asia and Africa regions and serve its global customer base with clean agricultural products, that are witnessing a surge in consumption after the pandemic.”
Sameer Vijaykumar Mehra, Founder and Director of Suminter.
“We are very excited to work with a dynamic entrepreneur and management team that is at the heart of Indian organic agriculture eco-system. Being one of the early entrants in the organic space, the journey of the Company is inspiring. They have been executing consistently over the years, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of market opportunity, organic agriculture is hugely under-penetrated. We believe Suminter will play a leadership role in scaling this industry, consolidate its market-leading position and support growth of sustainable farming practices,” said Shyamsundar Gurumoorthy, Managing Director and Co-Head of Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure.
“Suminter is a frontrunner within organic supply chain and a perfect match with our impact priorities of creating green, just and inclusive societies. Converting more hectares to organic cultivation has high environmental value, and assisting smallholder farmers in becoming organic producers will increase yields as well as their income. Suminter already has a proven concept and a solid track record and we believe that our new partnership can further develop the business and improve the living condition for more smallholder farmers in Asia and Africa.”
Otto Vinther Christensen, Vice President of Agribusiness for IFU.
About Suminter
Suminter is one of the largest organic and sustainably grown food and fibre exporters from the Asia and Africa Region. It has a network of 90,000+ farmers. Through its various agricultural services, Suminter empowers its farmers by providing them training on organic & natural farming methods and promoting sustainable technologies. It also provides live demonstrations on seed treatment, plant nursery, compost preparation & crop pest control to enable farmers to get the best yields possible for their crops using natural and sustainable technologies for cultivation. Suminter’s processes ensure organic integrity of all its products and ensure the highest foods safety standards for its customers. Suminter’s product range includes certified organic spices, herbs, soya feed, coconut, oilseeds, cotton, sugar, cocoa and more, and its customers are located in the USA, Europe, Canada, Southeast Asia and various frontier markets.
About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.
Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure is the India infrastructure investing platform of Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners. Part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners is a leading global infrastructure investment platform with offices in New York, London, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and Mumbai.
[1] Source: The World of Organic Agriculture: Statistics & Emerging Trends 2022 (https://www.fibl.org/fileadmin/documents/shop/1344-organic-world-2022.pdf accessed on 16-Sep-2022)