responsAbility Invests in Qul Fruitwall to Scale Climate-Resilient Horticulture in India

Srinagar/Zurich - 17 September 2025 – responsAbility Investments AG, a leading Swiss impact asset manager, is providing debt financing to Qul Fruitwall, a vertically integrated horticulture startup based in the Kashmir region of northern India. The partnership supports Qul’s mission to transform India’s horticulture sector by empowering farmers, advancing climate-resilient practices and reducing food loss throughout the Himalayan region.

Qul, headquartered in Srinagar, operates across the entire temperate horticulture value chain, offering end-to-end solutions including the development and management of high-density orchards, the production of regenerative agri-inputs, integrated cold chain infrastructure and market distribution. To date, the company has developed over 10,000 high-density smallholder farms in Kashmir and is now expanding to other temperate crops and geographies in the Indian Himalayas¹.

The investment will be used to expand Qul’s controlled atmosphere cold storage infrastructure, scale its pole manufacturing facility, and meet the working capital needs of the business. These investments are designed to strengthen post-harvest capabilities, reduce food loss, increase yields, and enable smallholder farmers to adopt sustainable, climate-smart agricultural practices.

Addressing systemic challenges in temperate horticulture

India’s temperate horticulture sector faces several structural challenges, including ageing orchards, low productivity, and inefficient resource use. In recent years, erratic weather patterns have further reduced yields and threatened soil health. Qul is proactively addressing these challenges through integrated pre- and post-harvest interventions that aim to build farmers’ resilience, raise incomes, and protect agro-ecosystems.

Empowering farmers and promoting climate resilience

Khuram Mir, Founder and CEO of Qul Fruitwall, said: “This investment from responsAbility marks an important moment in our journey to make horticulture India’s next great transformation - much like the IT revolution of the 1990s, but rooted in cultivation, regeneration, and conscience. By scaling our high-density orchard model and expanding our integrated cold-chain infrastructure, we are enabling farmers to achieve multifold yield gains, improve incomes, and adopt climate-smart practices that safeguard the environment. With responsAbility’s partnership, we are accelerating our mission to blend biosciences, digital innovation, and process excellence into a model that delivers prosperity, dignity, and resilience for generations to come.”

Promoting smart climate practices

Suhasini Singh, Head of Sustainable Food Debt at responsAbility, said, "This investment underscores responsAbility’s commitment to enhancing climate resilience and promoting sustainable agricultural practices across the food system. By supporting Qul’s strong focus on delivering technological and supply chain solutions for the apple value chain, we are helping to improve yields and strengthen climate resilience. Through our climate-smart agriculture strategy, we are deepening our impact where it matters most."

Technical assistance to smallholder farmers

In addition to the financing, responsAbility also plans to provide technical assistance to Qul to help build the capacity of the farmers in the apple growing regions. This support will focus on agronomic best practices, orchard management, and climate adaptation strategies.

About Qul Qul is a conscious, full-stack horticulture company based in the Indian Himalayas, working across the entire temperate horticulture value chain to create a regenerative, climate-resilient future for farmers and communities. Powered by bio, digital, and process sciences, Qul delivers end-to-end solutions from genetics and nurseries to orchard development and management, regenerative agri-inputs, integrated cold-chain solutions, and market distribution.

Inspired by its core philosophy ‘Where Science Meets Conscience,’ Qul blends global innovation with local wisdom to increase yields, improve quality, and reduce food loss. With a growing network of over 30,000+ empowered farmers, Qul is transforming the Himalayas into a global horticulture hub and building prosperity, dignity, and planetary balance; one orchard, one farmer and one innovation at a time.

Qul is redefining horticulture through deep domain knowledge, systemic thinking, cutting-edge technology, and guided by conscience which is rooted in care and shaped by purpose - creating enduring value for people, partners, and the planet. More at www.qulfruits.com / www.qul.ai

¹All data, statistics, and statements related to Battery Smart mentioned in the following text are provided directly by Qul.