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On a sunny morning in October 2017, Muhaimin Iqbal, founder and chairman of iGrow Resources
Indonesia, felt so awe-inspiring. Since he graduated with the topmost score from agricultural
mechanization department at the Bogor Agricultural University in 19851, he has never been as
optimistic in looking at the prospect of Indonesia agriculture sector as at that morning. A program,
called the Agripreneur Apprenticeship Program, launched by his co-founded Indonesia Startup Center
received a tremendous response from the best agriculture graduates of the country. It is a truly out-of-
the-mainstream phenomenon in the time when agriculture graduates are more interested in finding
careers beyond the focus of their educational background. 2
The ‘back-to-farm’ magnetism certainly did not appear out on the spur of the moment.
Iqbal’s initiative to disrupt the agriculture sector was cheered on by Andreas Senjaya, a young
technology enthusiast. In the heart of Depok city, West Java, Indonesia – the home of Universitas
Indonesia, where Andreas Senjaya was graduated from, in September 2014 the duo creating a fin-tech
startup named iGrow. Coming from differing fields with a good mix of experience, they collaborate to
bring iGrow to become an agriculture resource integrator and crack information mismatch between
farmers, investors, and landowners. iGrow offers a real solution and has been recognized at home and
internationally through winning various startup competition and being chosen as one of six startups
from Indonesia to join the third Google Launchpad accelerator program in San Francisco 3.
With all those notable achievements, iGrow seems to have successfully revived the spirit of
millennial agriculture graduates to become urban farmers. Some agri-startups have joined the club,
even by mirroring on iGrow business model in developing their companies. Iqbal was not anxious
about such happening because as the first-mover in Indonesia iGrow has secured a huge competitive
advantage. His dream of prospering Indonesian land through agriculture also became more visible
with more participation from the various parties. However, some questions remain. Was iGrow
business model sustainable? Would the model really become solutions to solve the caustic and
interconnected problems in Indonesian agriculture?
Agriculture in Indonesia
Indonesia is a vast developing country with a population of 250 million people and fifteenth
largest land compared to other nations in the world. The fact that the country GDP growth reaches
5.07% (2017) 4 compared to 3.6% (world) and 4.6% (emerging market and developing country) 5 make
Indonesia becoming one of the most promising markets in the world. As a result of poverty rate
reduction success in the last two decades, one in every five Indonesian enters the middle-class group.
This is equal to 52 million people whose consumption takes account of 43% household consumption
in the nation6.
Despite the vast effort of strengthening middle-class prosperity, especially in the era of the
demographic dividend, Indonesia still need to address the issues of food management for its ever-
more-growing population. Food is especially important for every human being as it is a basic need to
survive. Regrettably, many of the Indonesian population are still vulnerable to the undernourished 7
although the country is close to successfully reach the millennium development goal of halving the
underfed by 2015. Moreover, ironic to the fact that Indonesian pride on itself as 'agrarian nation' as
well as its supportive tropical climate and fertile land, the share of the agriculture sector to country
GDP is decreasing for the last five decades 8. The pressure to resolve the problem is even larger for the
government has set an ambitious goal for being the world main food supplier by 2045910.
Farming in Indonesia compromises further deeper issues. Even though the population is
rapidly growing, the task is also no longer seen as an attractive job and youth are inclined to move to
the city rather than choosing to farm as they believe that it provides a better chance for a living.
Farmer's real wages per day is Rp37,000 or ($2.7) - a number that is far less than a living wage11 and
Aulia Natasya Irfani Ampri prepared this case under the supervision of Miranti Kartika Dewi and Emil Bachtiar for class discussion. This
case was developed from published sources. The case is not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustration of
effective or ineffective management or handling of decision or business process.
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iGrow Indonesia: A Journey towards Sustainable Agriculture 4.0
the average age for a farmer is 4012. It is not surprising that as shown in Figure 1, the number of
farmers households decreases significantly at a rate of 16.32% from 2003 to 201313.
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iGrow Indonesia: A Journey towards Sustainable Agriculture 4.0
Real-life Farmville
iGrow serves as connectors between those with excess money, land, and time to do farming
as shown in Figure 2. Landowners will obtain productive shares from its otherwise idle land while
farmers (or known as ‘operator’ in iGrow’s term) could earn money for living. The challenge comes
more from the farmer’s side. We need credible farmers with credible experience as well as an
aggressive attitude when it comes to their planting activities. As coined by a Forbes contributor,
iGrow could be equated with 'Farmville in real life' for investors. Users can choose which plant to
grow, know where the plants are planted as well as when it is expected to be harvested (Figure 3). As
iGrow raises capital from common people whom it calls as ‘sponsors’, it gives its sponsors the
opportunity to see plant growth and progress by the operators periodically. There are various plants
offered by iGrow, ranging from the fast-harvesting plants such as peanuts and bananas to long-
harvesting ones that fruiting after three years such as durians, longans, and guavas to plants which are
non-native to Indonesia such as olives, figs and dates. In addition, iGrow also partner with
independent surveyors who play important roles in the iGrow business model as they are responsible
to conduct many site visits to various plantations in Indonesia to verify the existence and feasibility of
land proposed by operators to be financed by sponsors through the iGrow platform. They are also
trusted by iGrow to monitor the operators and ensure that the crops are consistently produced and will
fulfill market demands – thus avoiding agency problem potentially caused by the operators.20 They
become the advisors for the operators in overcoming agriculture-related risks such as plant disease
and less-productive plants. The surveyors also act as the bridge between iGrow, its sponsors and
operators by periodically reporting detail regarding their plants through the iGrow platform. The
sponsors can also chat with iGrow independent surveyors to know more detail regarding their plants
(Figure 4). The surveyors can be a legal entity or an individual who is selected by iGrow based on
their capability and understanding on farming-related matters.21
Subsequent to the harvest time, iGrow shares the profit to the operators and investors. Around
30-40% of the net profit from selling crops goes to operators; another 40-50% goes to sponsors, and
the rest 10-20% goes to iGrow and its independent surveyors. This profit-sharing scheme creates
agency dependence and stimulates a sense of belonging for operators to produce the best agricultural
products. iGrow currently has over 1,831 investments. iGrow already has 1,600 tons produced
peanuts (2016). This brings 24% annualized return to iGrow sponsors, a very high margin especially
for the investors who lived in a country with the low bank deposit interest rate.
iGrow claims that the clear financial return and mechanism has caused 99% of the investors
reinvested their money back to the iGrow platform. Through iGrow, financial transaction contributed
to real sector assist solution for the real basic problem. iGrow proves that the unique combination of
technological platform, connection above information asymmetry between sides, and 'contribution to
giving back' cause could create loyalty to iGrow.
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iGrow Indonesia: A Journey towards Sustainable Agriculture 4.0
On the demand side, iGrow is not worrying about whether the products would be sold or not
so the products do not go to waste22. iGrow management teams are always updating themselves to
identify crops which the market would like to buy, having price stability and good characteristics, so
that the crops can be easily sold to the market. To illustrate, iGrow chooses to plant red calliandra
(Caliandra callothyrsus, an energy crops) and starts the pilot project on several regencies in
Indonesia. Why red calliandra? It has multiple benefits. As a leguminous plant, it can fertilize the land
where it is planted. Its woods can be processed as biomass energy raw materials in the form of chips
and pellets, making the market for the crops so promising. Its leaves can be used to feed livestock
such as for sheep, goats and cows. Its beautiful red ‘powder puff’ flowers 23 should stimulate the
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iGrow Indonesia: A Journey towards Sustainable Agriculture 4.0
intensification of the national honey industry.24 All these farming intelligence requires smart and
careful insights which show iGrow’s prominence as in its journey towards the world largest organic
‘mobile’ farm.
Adding to this, iGrow engages its operators with a forward contract which enable them to buy
a certain quantity of the crops in advance based on an agreed price, e.g. 10 per cent below the market
price as it but them in advance. Assume that iGrow partner up with an operator to produce 100 tons of
crops per year. When the 100 tons is ready, those quantities will be sold by iGrow to engaged buyers
with whom iGrow has secured legally. Upon iGrow’s approval, the ordered crops can be delivered
directly by the operators to the buyers’ warehouse. iGrow made contracts with buyers for the sale of
its agricultural products in advance before iGrow provides the approval to the operators to start
planting the seeds. If the operator’s crops exceed the target, the operator is given two options, whether
to keep it for their own purposes or to sell the additions to iGrow. To mitigate the risk that operator
fails to meet the ordered quantity, iGrow through its very own independent surveyor always
encourage operators to be fully-committed with their work as the more they produce, the more their
work may improve their welfare. The quality of the agricultural products is also ensured by the
surveyor which travels to various managed lands. Meanwhile, to manage risks due to uncertain
natural conditions that can result in crop failures or other force majeure, iGrow set aside 7.5-12.5% of
each investment fund's funds as endowment funds. 25
For agricultural product buyers, iGrow adds value by providing high-quality and high-
quantity organic products. Due to the result of scale, iGrow could provide the products at a
competitive price. In order to guarantee this, iGrow first secure contracts to the demand (usually
hypermarket business or large corporation) before opening up new land or working together with
operators. As shown in Figure 5, iGrow has maintained a close relationship with GarudaFood and
Dua Kelinci for peanut harvested. Both of these two firms are the two most prominent players on
peanuts snacks in Indonesia26. Moreover, iGrow is sending another groceries-related harvest to large
national hypermarts such as Carrefour and Hero.
iGrow is not limiting its level of playing the field on the national scale only. It has exported
its products to various countries outside Indonesia. The export ranges from pineapple to Switzerland
and Argentina as well as vetiver (chrysopogon zizanioides), a classic-scent ingredient that powers
some of the world's best fragrances for men27 to France28.
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iGrow Indonesia: A Journey towards Sustainable Agriculture 4.0
are a fulltime entrepreneur, not a fulltime fundraiser. Our greatest satisfaction is not when our startup
is published in various media as it successfully obtained billions of funding or is admired by many
people because of its values worth trillions of Rupiahs. Our real satisfaction is when our startup
mechanisms are proven to work, can be accepted by the market, provide added value, bring profits
and growth for companies. Funding from investors is only a tool to increase the speed of startup
business growth, it is not the ultimate goal. For me, the purpose of developing a startup is to create
and provide added value to others. The more valuable and scalable our value added is, the faster our
company develops". 31
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iGrow Indonesia: A Journey towards Sustainable Agriculture 4.0
equipment purchase and 20-40% for the sale of crops). Eragano also provides offline consulting
services with agricultural experts to increase the capacity of farmers who belong to its farming
ecosystem. This uniqueness of its business model has invited East Ventures in 2016 to inject funds
into Eragano.
TaniFund, the P2P which focuses on production fields such as agriculture, fisheries and
animal husbandry was established in 2017 to assist farmers from the traps of middlemen that for a
long time have been the backbone of their capital. The performance of farmer groups funded by
TaniFund has been carefully tested through the process of crops selling through its online marketplace
sister company, TaniHub. Established in 2016, TaniHub aims to bring the market to farmer groups
through its online platform.38 Positioning itself not as a competitor for banking or government
programs, TaniFund is committed to synergizing with all parties. One of them is through join-
financing in collaboration with a national bank. Since its establishment, TaniHub and TaniFund have
collaborated with more than 1,300 farmers throughout Indonesia. 39 Although in general the business
model of TaniFund is almost similar to iGrow, the funding provided by the former’s investors is not
based on plants but projects. As an additional novelty, TaniFund collaborates with TaniHub to ensure
that all of its farmers’ crops can be absorbed by the market. 40
The rapid growth of Indonesian agri-startup businesses also invites Tanijoy to enter the P2P
lending ecosystem in 2017 by focusing on financing the Indonesian agricultural sector.41 Tanijoy’s
business model for providing agricultural financing, profit sharing proportion, and initiative to secure
an advance contract with end-buyers are not much different from iGrow. Tanijoy also makes a reserve
fund in the event of crop failure or price fluctuations but taken from different sources of funds in a
larger percentage than iGrow, which is 20% of its share of profits. In addition to offering a revenue-
sharing system to investors and farmers, Tanijoy offers cooperation with landowners under two
systems: profit sharing and land renting. Tanijoy also seeks to develop the farming capacity of
communities by equipping them with agricultural skills and knowledge so that they can become
Farmer Managers who later become representatives of Tanijoy in the field. 42 Tanijoy’s business
model is appreciated by the international community, making them the only Indonesian Agricultural
Startup in the 2018 Thought for Food Event in Brazil. From the event, Tanjioy plan to collaborate
with RiseHarvest, an Australian start-up engaged in the digital extension service. Tanijoy was also
inspired to use the Geographic Information System technology to help its farmers in making decisions
regarding land management and sales time. 43
Expanding Worldwide
iGrow is aiming to build the world's largest organic farm that is efficient and scalable. After
vast experience in Indonesia, Senjaya expressed in the G-Startup Worldwide Global Finals 2016 pitch
that iGrow is ready to scale globally. iGrow also secured a contract with eCovis Energy, an energy-
efficiency firm based on Abu Dhabi during the World Future Energy Summit (2018). The cooperation
is targeted to strengthen Indonesia villages that are lagging behind the country development. Here,
eCovis Energy provides biomass technology to transform crops into energy. The villages itself would
also gain benefit in the form of employment opportunity as well as food and fuel from the corps.
Until this day, iGrow has established a partnership with local partners in Turkey and Japan to
open new farming location. Furthermore, iGrow is preparing for partnership with Malaysia, Thailand,
Brazil, and Canada (Figure 6). Senjaya highlighted that this strategic agreement helps making iGrow
concern of fixing supply and demand problems for food becomes reality.
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iGrow Indonesia: A Journey towards Sustainable Agriculture 4.0
Senjaya admitted the most challenging part among the vital stakeholders of iGrow is to find
investors and the next puzzling challenge is finding the buyers. In contrast to the two, finding
landowners are much easier. The reasoning for this is iGrow has to ensure that the entity has cleared
the land, buy the seeds, and arrange the operators before launching a project opportunity on the
website. Adding to this, iGrow must also prepare at least three-month working capital to the
operators.
Initially, all of the iGrow investors are coming from individuals. iGrow has been trying to
enhance the number by making a creative video explaining iGrow operation and impacts (Figure 7).
However, to increase iGrow fresh source of cash, iGrow has approached large corporation to invest
the money. If the agreements succeed, iGrow will obtain higher credibility as a platform and attract
even more individual and corporate investment.
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iGrow Indonesia: A Journey towards Sustainable Agriculture 4.0
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