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Agribusiness, Environment, Finance, India, Start ups, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy

The 14 onboarded cohort startups are solving critical sustainability issues like reducing post-harvest losses, creating value from agricultural waste, and mitigating CO2 emissions.

 SBI Foundation and Villgro recently announced the launch of their ‘Innovators for Bharat’ portfolio featuring 14 innovative agri-tech startups. The launch event, held at Bangalore International Centre, was graced by senior representatives from SBI Foundation, Villgro and NABKISAN. It also witnessed enthusiastic participation from several distinguished industry stakeholders including investors, financing partners, channel partners, CSR executives, among others.

The collaborative design of the program involves funding support from SBIF, which will also provide a network of banking and financial institutions for mentorship, as well as partnerships with civil service organizations for field trials and pilots. Villgro will play a crucial role by offering mentorship, technical assistance, and market linkages. Together, this financial and technical support aims to help startups scale their solutions, making them more accessible to end users and creating lasting social and environmental impact.

Innovators for Bharat is a flagship initiative by SBI Foundation to accelerate social innovation in India to find indigenous, impactful, and cutting-edge solutions to the most pressing problems in our country. Under this initiative, SBIF selects and supports high impact incubators providing incubation & acceleration support to start ups in key focus areas including Climate Change, Agriculture and allied sectors, Fintech, Deep Science, Health-tech, and Tech4Good. In partnership with Villgro, this program intends to empower social entrepreneurs to drive the transformation of Indian Agriculture towards profitability, nutrition, climate resilience and sustainability.

Delivering the keynote address at the event, Sanjay Prakash, MD and CEO, SBI Foundation said, “SBI foundation’s vision is to support early and growth-stage start-ups that tackle the challenges associated with agriculture and the impacts of climate change. We aim to foster the development of tech solutions from these start-ups, ultimately improving the income of smallholder farmers and making their businesses more profitable and sustainable. Together, we can drive meaningful change in the agricultural sector and contribute to a more resilient future”.

Maithili Rege, Associate Lead, Agriculture & Climate Action, Villgro said, “Through this program, we aim to coach agri-tech startups, help embed their solutions in the market and provide access to innovative financing to supplement what they currently lack from the VC ecosystem. With the program’s initial funding of Rs 3.25 crore, an almost equal amount of catalytic capital is being unlocked through our NBFC partner, NABKISAN, benefiting startups with a total of Rs 6 crore”.

The 14 startups supported by Innovators for Bharat were felicitated at the event, including: Bharat Rohan, RAAV Techlabs, Navork Innovations, Marut Drones, GreyMatter (Upaz), Carbon Masters, Raheja Solar, Ekosight, Pasidi Panta, Agrosperity (Kivi), Krimanshi, RuKart, GreenSupply and E-Feed.

These startups focus on issues such as reducing post-harvest losses, creating value from agricultural waste, and mitigating CO2 emissions. Over the next two years, the program aims to positively impact the lives of 10,000 individuals, promote sustainable practices on 60,000 acres of land, and prevent 15,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

The 14 onboarded cohort startups are solving

Agribusiness, Company News, India, Start ups

 It aims to support startups which includes strategic mentoring, field pilot opportunities, rural distribution access, climate impact evaluation guidance, and technical assistance for carbon projects.

SBI Foundation and Villgro announced the launch of the ‘Innovators for Bharat’ portfolio, supporting 9 agricultural start-ups with equity seed funding. SBI Foundation, under its flagship SBIF LEAP (Livelihood and Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program), unveiled the ‘Innovators for Bharat’ initiative last year, which collaborates with high-impact incubators providing support to start-ups working to address the most pressing development challenges in the country. Partnering with Villgro, one of India’s foremost social enterprise incubators, in September 2023, the initiative introduced the Agri-tech Cohort under Innovators for Bharat. The goal of this Cohort is to identify and support Startups working on cutting-edge solutions to improve agricultural productivity, build climate resilience and sustainability for the agriculture sector in India, taking their innovations to the ground.

Through their support for 9 startups, SBI Foundation and Villgro aim to surpass the goal of benefiting 10,000 farmers by not only enhancing livelihoods and incomes but also bringing 60,000 acres of land under sustainable cultivation and preventing 15,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

The initiative is supporting these startups addressing crucial points across the agriculture value chain:

Bharat Rohan: Utilizes drone-based hyperspectral imagery to offer farm advisory, optimizing soil health, yields, and profitability.

RAAV Techlabs: Offers near-infrared technology devices for objective testing of quality parameters in produce, thereby reducing food losses.

Navork Innovations: Tackles post-harvest losses with a plant extract-based formulation that extends the shelf life of highly perishable produce like mushrooms and bananas.

Marut Drones: Provides drones and software for multiple farming services, including spraying, direct seeding, crop health monitoring, and advisory.

GreyMatter (Upaz): Supplies farmers with high-quality inputs and affordable credit through a ‘Community Commerce and Financing Model’ integrating microfinance and services across the agriculture value chain.

Carbon Masters: Implements a circular economy solution converting organic waste into Bio-CNG and organic fertilizers.

Raheja Solar: Develops renewable energy-based solar dryers to reduce post-harvest losses and processes and sells its own dried food using produce bought back from farmers.

Ekosight: Provides a portable soil testing device for assessing soil quality and offering accurate advice on fertilizer application and precision farming.

Pasidi Panta: Develops an end-to-end commodity value chain service for farmers, focusing on residue-free chili production using Integrated Pest Management.

Support provided to these companies includes strategic mentoring, field pilot opportunities, rural distribution access, climate impact evaluation guidance, and technical assistance for carbon projects. Additionally, the program helps startups develop financially stable models, secure debt financing, and raise awareness about their innovations.

“This programme serves to reinforce our commitment to strengthening India’s agriculture sector – a bedrock of the nation’s heritage and economy. This year’s Independence Day echoes the spirit of ‘Viksit Bharat’ – a vision of a progressive, inclusive and empowered India. In light of this, Innovators for Bharat, seeks to harness the entrepreneurial spirit of our country’s startups. Beyond financial support, we will provide the selected startups access to our network of banking experts for mentorship, Civil Society Organizations and other key stakeholders,” said Sanjay Prakash, Managing Director, SBI Foundation.

“This programme was launched with a strong focus on climate-resilience and sustainability. These are both imperative to safeguard the country’s agriculture sector from increasingly variable weather patterns stemming from climate change. Combining Villgro and SBI Foundation’s synergies has allowed us to onboard unique start-ups with innovative technologies addressing challenges across the agricultural value chain. We are excited to gear up our efforts in supporting these startups as we enter the second phase of the programme and move closer to our goal of building climate resilience while impacting 10,000 farmers,” adds Srinivas Ramanujam, CEO, Villgro.

In the second leg of this program, SBI Foundation and Villgro will be supporting another 5 enterprises with Grant capital with a view to unlocking innovative finance through their partners in the financial ecosystem.

 It aims to support startups which includes

Finance, India, Schemes - Banks, Start ups

Both the companies will launch ‘Innovators For Bharat: Climate Resilient Agricultural Livelihoods’ program for startups.

SBI Foundation, through its SBIF LEAP (Livelihood and Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program), has introduced the ‘Innovators for Bharat’ initiative. This initiative aims to support high-impact incubators that provide incubation and acceleration services to start-ups addressing critical development challenges in India. SBI Foundation has partnered with Villgro, a leading social enterprise incubator, to launch the ‘Innovators For Bharat: Climate Resilient Agricultural Livelihoods’ program. The program will assist up to 15 promising start-ups in making a significant impact on agricultural livelihoods, reducing agriculture’s climate impact, and bolstering the resilience of smallholder farmers to climate change.

The program will facilitate the sustainable scaling of agricultural start-ups by offering them equity seed funding, grant capital, and tailored incubation support. This support encompasses strategic business mentoring, opportunities for field trials, access to rural distribution networks, guidance on quantifying and assessing climate impact, and technical aid for developing carbon projects. Additionally, the program will focus on assisting start-ups in establishing financially stable business models and accessing debt financing to support their growth. Furthermore, it will serve as a platform to promote awareness of start-up innovations through various channels. In a joint effort, Villgro and SBI Foundation will provide financial support totalling Rs 3.25 crores, combining grants and equity investments. Villgro will assume a central role in this initiative by devising program implementation, selecting start-ups through rigorous evaluation and due diligence, offering ongoing incubation support, and advocating for startup success. SBI Foundation will extend financial assistance to the selected startups and facilitate access to its network of banking experts for mentorship, civil society organizations, and other key stakeholders.

“As the funding and implementation partner, SBI Foundation is wholly devoted to empowering startups and cultivating an innovative culture within the agricultural sector. In collaboration with Villgro, our shared goal is to create a meaningful and enduring impact. Our dedication extends to driving substantial environmental transformations, with particular emphasis on waste recycling/upcycling, CO2 emissions reduction and removal, and the sustainable management of land and resources. With this program, we aim to improve the lives of 10,000 people in two years, including creating jobs for many of them,” said Sanjay Prakash, Managing Director, SBI Foundation.

Sharing about the program, Maithili Rege, Associate Lead, Agriculture, Villgro, said, “Climate resilience in agriculture has become crucial due to unpredictable weather, extreme events, and shifting climate conditions. The Innovators for Bharat’ program is a fantastic opportunity to harness innovation to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers while making agriculture more environmentally sustainable. The program stands out by offering strong go-to-market support to enterprises, enhancing startups’ readiness for debt financing, and providing dedicated advocacy for startup success.”

The program invites startups at various stages of development, from early MVP stage to more mature enterprises in the growth phase. Agritech startups, Agri Fintech startups, and Climate Tech Startups with a primary focus on themes such as climate-resilient agriculture, reducing post-harvest losses, waste-to-value solutions, and carbon impact and measurement are encouraged to submit their applications. The program particularly encourages women entrepreneurs to apply. The selection of startups for the program will be based on the innovativeness of their solutions, the current stage of their enterprise, business viability, team composition, and potential to create a significant impact on a larger scale.

Both the companies will launch 'Innovators For