Ninjacart, a business-to-business agricultural produce marketplace, announced on Tuesday that it has implemented a 100 crore (approximately $13.4 million) employee stock ownership plan (Esop). Current and former employees who have vested ESPPs as of December 2021 are eligible to sell all of their ESPPs.
The move is intended to assist the startup in attracting and retaining good talent, as well as to strengthen the company’s vision of developing technology and infrastructure for farmers, resellers, retailers, consumers, and supply chain participants.
Ninjacart’s second Esop buyback, the first of which occurred in 2019. The latest Esop buyback announcement comes on the heels of Flipkart and Walmart announcing a $145 million round of joint strategic investment in Ninjacart in December 2021.
According to Thirukumaran Nagarajan, co-founder and CEO of Ninjacart, the move is aimed at recognising the work of “our current and previous employees who stood by us and helped us achieve every milestone with their extraordinary effort”. “This Esop buyback programme is a small gesture of our gratitude towards our employees because, without them, we will not be where we are today. Esop buyback plans offer people a true chance at wealth creation and it allows employees to participate in the company’s success which has only been possible through their hard work and loyalty,” he said
The company raised funding in December 2019 from Walmart and its Indian e-commerce arm Flipkart, followed by a follow-on round in October 2020. In April 2019, it also received $90 million from the US-based investment firm Tiger Global Management. Other investors in Ninjacart include venture capital firms Accel, Qualcomm Ventures in the United States, HR Capital in Russia, Japanese venture capital firm-cum-accelerator Mistletoe, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani’s NRJN Trust, and Neoplux, the venture arm of Doosan Corp. in South Korea.
In the future, the company intends to “acquire more skilled professionals, develop a healthy working environment for its employees, and hire people with leadership characteristics.”
To be sure, startups like Ninjacart are going to great lengths to sweeten deals in order to hire and retain employees in this competitive market. According to a December VCCircle analysis, 32 Indian startups spent close to 3,000 crore, or about $440 million, last year to buy back Esops. In comparison, 12 companies reportedly acquired nearly $50 million in Esops from their employees in 2020.
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