Farmers in the country have a long history of undergoing and fighting arduous battles. Samunnati is a Chennai based NBFC that focuses on providing loans to farmers and entities engaged in agriculture. They provide affordable and customized financial services like working capital, retail loans, and loans against receivables. Anil Kumar SG, promoter and CEO of Samunnati speaks to Entrepreneur India about his venture:

Where Do You See Your Start-up a Few Years Down the Line?
We see Samunnati as a pioneer in establishing the Agriculture sector as a lendable proposition and farming as a sustainable economic activity for smallholder farmers. This is achieved by demonstrating that a value chain finance approach is what suits lending to agriculture than a standalone cookie-cutter approach. An “internal player” approach to the value chain financing that Samunnati is building, coupled with customised product design, deployment of Agri Tech as well as FinTech for process efficiencies and providing the much-needed market linkages as well as advisory services for productivity gains to farmers, is the approach that would make agriculture sector, lendable and sustainable. This is the strategy of Samunnati.

What is the Biggest Risk You Have Taken as a Start-up?
Embarking on agriculture as a focus area and following the heart to make a difference to the smallholder farmers, is the biggest risk that people perceive. For me, it is following my heart and nothing seems to be a big risk.

How Does Your Start-up Impact the Society at Large?
It will establish Agriculture as a lendable proposition as against being perceived as the riskiest proposition for all lenders. 600 million people dependant on agriculture means a lot. Demonstrating sustainable business proposition would entail both the policymakers in general and lenders including Banks in particular, understand how to approach lending to agriculture than what they are currently pursuing.

Sustainability of farming as an economic activity would mean increased incomes for Small Holder Farmers thereby encouraging them to pursue farming as a viable economic activity. This will eventually decrease the migration of farmers abandoning their farms and move to urban areas for other forms of wage employment. But stay with their farms and do farming on their lands in a dignified fashion.

What is the Single Biggest Aspect that Ensures the Success of a Start-up?
TEAM – bringing together the right set of members into the team who share the passion to pursue the mission, is the single biggest aspect.

A Message for the Upcoming Start-up Founders.
Follow your heart, set a high benchmark on the dream being pursued than focusing on economic gains, valuations etc., They are all byproducts if the entity becomes successful. Making a difference to the society should be the sole purpose and driver of the entity than any other consideration.