Country: India

Organization: Naveen Gram Agrotechnologies Pvt. Ltd.

2) Sector of activity: Agriculture

3) Description of your products or services: We make the low-income individuals our suppliers, take their innovations to the market and promote these technologies as sustainable and viable alternatives to existing technologies in the market. My primary clients are small and medium farmers, who cannot afford to invest large suns of money in technology and fuel intensive technologies like tractors, combined harvesters. Our focus has been on introducing products that can run on electricity or low power diesel engines. Further, the investment for the customer should be between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 1,00,000. We are also working with banks to provide loans to make it easy for small and medium farmers to possess these assets.These will ensure that the small farmers can carry out their operations in a timely and planned manner rather than depend on hired machines and labour. Our focus is also on reducing the use of labour in the field by small farmers. This will ensure the family, especially women and children, will have free time allowing them the women to pursue other income generating non-farm activities and for children to focus on personal development through education. Thus dependence on agricultural will decrease, non-farm activities especially art and craft will help skills survive and literacy among the next generation will enable them to seize opportunities offered by a networked and knowledge led society.

4) Description of the operational model: We identify suppliers of innovative technologies through agricultural universities, Civil Society Organisations and media. Havng identified we test market the product, provide feedback, work with suppliers to make the product cost- effective . These are on-going activities. Simultaneously, we have our own network of agents who introduce these technologies in their respective region and provide feedback. Customisation to local needs is done based on feedback from the agents, when possible, and better products launched in the market. We work with Civil Society organisations to allow us to demonstrate our technologies in their area of operation and with financial intermediaries to work for financing of these products, where required. The biggest advantage is we do not stock our technologies at any point, except the manufacturer, leading to low carrying costs for our channel partners. Only one machine is given for demonstration. Also we appoint agents instead of dealers who are in direct touch with farmers, not requiring a physical presence in terms of a shop and related infrastructure. Working through CSOs helps us convince the small farmers easily as they trust these CSOs. HOwever, the biggest challenge is to maintain the distribution network as high value products offer higher margins and our margins are less than half of what the market offers, challenging us to innovate newer ways to distribute and promote the products.

5) Description of the financial model: Yes, we ensure that low-income people directly pay for our products. We work with local financial institutions to provide loans on our products so that the low-income can acquire these assets at a very small initial investment. We are working with FIs to develop flexible repayment options aligning with the harvest season of crops for these farmers. We are working with CSOs to identify Self-Help Groups that can acquire these assets and rent out among group memebers as a sustainable business. The initiaive becomes financially sustainable after we have sold atleast one technology per block of villages. Initial demonstration costs are high till at least one machine is sold in a viallge. Once a machine is sold word of mouth and reduction in demonstration costs by 90% helps realise better margins and enter more and more geographical areas. The only way to reach this is to initially approach Venture Capitalists or grant-giving organisations who will support us through the demonstratioon phase. The company aims to be self- sufficient in every technology within 3 years of its introduction in the market.

      Client fees represent this approximate percentage of operational budget: 0%

6) Key operational partnership: We have introduced technologies to CSOS to enable them to take a decision on demonstrating our technologies in their area of operation. We are working with State Government to provide us a platform to exhibit our technologies at various national and local exhibitions at a subsidised price. We have sent our Business Plan for next 3 years to high networth individuals to consider social investments into the company.We are going through a due diligence from a VC. The challenges remain. Both CSOs and Government take time to decide if they should work with a Private for- profit making company. The skepticism slows down decision making resulting in valuable time lost. Also demonstration of technologies is time bound. For example, to demonstrate a mini thresher we have to wait till the on-set of the harvesting period and then demonstarte within a fortnight in all areas of operation. Also being a small company it becomes difficult to pursue many players at the same time, leading to choosing among the organisations and individuals that can help. One wrong choice can affect the operation of the company.

7) Current outreach: