On Independence Day, Samunnati presented its Agri Startup Engagement Platform – Samaraambh, exclusively to support the start-up ecosystem and innovations in the agriculture sector in India. This collaborative, online platform will nurture upcoming Agri start-ups and Agtech players that are looking to make a difference in the agriculture sector in India and in the lives of smallholder farmers.

The platform will integrate and enhance capabilities of Agri startups and Agtech players that are innovating solutions in the fields of fintech, mechanisation, IoT, Value added services, Warehousing and Storage, Inputs, Advisory and many other diverse areas to benefit the agriculture ecosystem. Samunnati will enable start-ups through three types of primary solutions

  • Financial Solutions
  • Advisory Solutions, and
  • Solution Deployment and Market Linkages

The launch was graced by the presence of eminent personalities of the Agri ecosystem.
Prof. Ramesh Chand, Member, Niti Aayog and XV Finance Commission was the Keynote Speaker at the launch. He shared his insights on why there is a need for Agri tech start-ups to enter in a big way in the sector and the areas start-ups should focus on, which is not just bringing in new technology but also taking knowledge to farmers, and looking at new age markets. He also mentioned that start-up entrepreneurs can truly be change agents in bringing about transformational growth in the agri sector.

The Special Address was provided by Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Institute Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, Co-Chairman, IIT Madras Incubation Cell, and Faculty-in-Charge, IIT Madras Research Park. He shared his experience with nurturing start-ups and the importance of efficiency of the ecosystem to provide adequate solutions to nurture start-ups. He also mentioned how Samunnati’s Startup Engagement Platform could be a powerful tool in nurturing start-ups in the Agri sector.

The launch was followed by a panel discussion on “Agri Start-ups: Changing the Face of Indian Agriculture” moderated by Mr. Hemendra Mathur, Co-Founder, ThinkAg and Venture Partner, Bharat Innovation Fund and eminent speakers from the industry. Mr. Vineet Rai, Founder and Chairman, Aavishkaar Group; Mr. Arindom Datta, Executive Director, Rural & Development Banking/Advisory, Rabobank; Mr. Pravesh Sharma, Founder and CEO, Kamatan Farm Tech Private Limited and Ms. Deepthi Reddy, CEO Samunnati Foundation.

The major discussion points of the panel were the opportunities and challenges for scaling Agri start-ups in India. The panel discussed issues and emerging trends in the Agri start-up industry and the outlook for 2020 for Agri start-ups in India.

Check out the YouTube link to watch the virtual launch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le3nujbyY18

Samaarambh, Samunnati’s Agri Startup Engagement Platform is now live. To access Samaarambh, please visit: https://samunnati.com/samaarambh/