Weather forecasting and agriculture risk solutions company Skymet announced on Wednesday to have raised INR 12 crore debt fund from Northern Arc and Caspian Impact Investments, venture debt investment fund. Skymet raised the funds to bolster its ground observation systems and accurate prediction of floods and cyclones in east India.
Skymet provides weather data services to numerous media houses and also works extensively in the farmer's network by offering tech-enabled weather solutions to decrease their risk and in turn increasing their productivity. The company is increasing its focus on using weather forecasting data for farming and is rapidly collaborating with different organizations to supply their needs for weather data so that it can be used for precision farming. The size of the weather forecasting industry in India is pegged to be around $100 million and has a lot of scope and opportunities which haven’t been explored yet.
“We are continuously scaling our network and improving our capabilities to help streamline ground observation networks in these trying times and continue providing our services to various organizations. The amount raised will help a lot in setting up more ground observation units in eastern India which is very much prone to natural calamities like floods, cyclones, etc which in turn would help our country to mitigate the risks and provide accurate data to farmers in those areas. We are happy to grow our relationship with Northern Arc and Capian Impact Investments in this journey,” said Yogesh Patil, chief executive officer, Skymet Weather.
According to Allied Market Research, the need for more accurate prediction has unleashed a wider domain for the global weather forecasting and services market to grow from $1.2 billion in 2016 to $2.7 billion by 2023. The recent investment by these two firms in Skymet boosts investors' confidence in the weather and agricultural sector during these troubled times of the pandemic.
Skymet has about 6,500 observation centres that provide real-time data on rainfall, thunder, lightning, and heat. The company aims to increase the size of the network and bring BFSI under insurance, lending as well as weather forecast and Management.
