Inficold

With India as the world’s largest milk producer, milk constitutes almost 4% of India’s GDP and requires cold chain to prevent spoilage. However, current chilling hardware operates at a slow rate, is inefficient, and requires diesel generators for power backup. Due to a lack of effective and efficient cold chain facilities, rural and semi-rural areas of India are facing a major problem. With dairy, fruit, vegetable, and horticultural farmers not being able to store or take fresh produce to the local collection centre or market to get a better price realisation, supplying fresh and better quality products is difficult and this causes significant wastage.

To mitigate the lack of chilling and cold storage facilities, Inficold, with its suite of products which can work with on-grid, off-grid, and solar, uses a patented process of thermal energy storage and round the clock chilling to keep milk, fruits horticulture and vegetables chilled at the right temperature. This product can enable farmers to sell fresher produce, get better price realization and significantly reduce wastage and spoiling of milk, fruits and vegetables. Moreover, Inficold provides sustainable energy solutions to rural, semi-rural and semi-urban Indian farmers and milk, fruit, vegetable and horticulture sellers. The same technology can also be used in cold chain logistics for last mile transport of medicines that need to be stored at cooler temperatures.

Inficold has developed cold chain products for milk cooling and fruits/vegetable modular solar cold storage that can make the dairy operations more efficient, improve milk quality as well as effectively solve the fruits and vegetable wastage problem in India. Its products are installed in over 15 Indian states and many of the leading dairies.

Through the PFAN journey, support in terms of when, how and what kind of investors should be approached was offered to Inficold. Moreover, Inficold participated in the PFAN Cooling Investment Forum where Inficold had the opportunity to pitch its business case to investors. PFAN has also assisted in preparing a feasible business plan, and acted as a sounding board for new product and business ideas. With support from PFAN and through development within the PFAN journey, Inficold has raised around USD 900 000, with the last USD 402,000 raised in January 2021 from Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund by way of convertible equity.