start up Archives - gamemmm12

Big Development For Agricultural Startups! Know All About Modi…

4 September 2024
by admin

New Delhi: In a significant development for the agricultural sector, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, launched the AgriSURE Scheme in New Delhi.

AgriSURE – Agri Fund for Start-ups & Rural Enterprises is an innovative fund which is a pioneering step toward revolutionizing the agricultural landscape in India.

With a focus on technology-driven, high-risk, high-impact ventures, AgriSURE is designed to fuel growth and foster innovation in the agricultural and rural start-up ecosystem.

A Blended capital fund of Rs 750 crore with SEBI Registered Category II, Alternative Investment Fund (AIF), contributions from the Government of India is Rs 250 crore, NABARD is Rs 250 crore, and Rs 250 crore is being mobilized from banks, insurance companies, and private investors.

With the introduction of the AgriSURE fund, the government aims to further drive investments in the agriculture sector that will empower farmers and boost the rural economy through accelerating accessible and affordable innovative solutions.

The NABARD website highlights the following Objectives of Agri SURE Fund:

The objectives of the AgriSURE Fund include, but not be limited to, providing funding support for the following.

– To create an investment-friendly climate for start-ups related to agriculture and allied activities and increase their investment absorption capacities.

– To accelerate the growth of start-ups in the agri ecosystem.

– Increase and sustain capital commitments to sector specific AIFs in order to enable them to provide equity support to Agri & Agri-tech start-ups engaged in s- erving farmers and FPOs/FPCs/Primary Cooperative Societies.

– Increase average size and number of investments by Alternative Investment Funds in Agri & Agri-tech start-ups.

– To encourage young entrepreneurs with innovative, technology-driven ideas and willingness to take high-risk, while engaging in high-impact activities in agriculture and Agri-tech.

– To provide liquidity to existing Agri & Agri-tech start-ups that are unable to upscale their business due to dearth of access to various kinds of financing like equity, debt instruments, etc.

– To give a boost to opportunities available for efficient and more profitable forward and backward linkage systems in the rural space that help make the farm produce value chain system stronger, robust and more systematic by encouraging start-ups operating in these activities and bring in new entrepreneurs into this field of agri-business.

– To enlist more players in the farm related ecosystem for enabling FPOs/FPCs/ Primary Cooperative Societies to access latest automated farm processes and machinery through Agri tech Start-ups.

– To create additional employment opportunities for the technically qualified rural and urban youth to look up to agriculture as a business opportunity.

– To retain the existing rural youth in agriculture and encourage the younger generation to take to agriculture by providing newer technologies, techniques and equipments at their doorsteps from time to time. By encouraging the urban youth to establish new Start-ups in the rural agricultural ecosystem to have a win-win situation for both young farmers and the urban entrepreneurs by working in their respective domains to benefit each other.

– To attract more investment in the agri and rural start-up ecosystem by making contribution to various Alternative Investment Funds.

Target Beneficiaries from Fund

– The Fund envisages to support about 85 Start-ups by the end of the Fund life with variable ticket size of upto ₹25 crore under the two schemes of the Fund.

– The target beneficiaries will include Start-ups working in agriculture and rural development sector and will include, but not limited to, Agritech, Food Processing, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Supply Chain Management, Farm Mechanisation, Biotechnology, Waste Management, Renewable energy, Agri Value Chain including Primary Cooperative Societies development, Support for FPOs, Technology support at Farm level and Climate change.

The ticket size and number of investments may undergo variations, depending on investment absorption capacity of the entrepreneurs/ enterprises and market conditions within the ecosystem and the like.

Science & Environment

How sustainable diaper brand Kudos is taking on industry…

4 August 2024
by admin

Kudos diapers founder Amrita Saigal with her daughter

Courtesy: Kudos

Throughout modern history, parents have only had one real option when it comes to disposable diapers: plastic.

The single-use products are typically made with fossil fuels like petroleum and can take hundreds of years to break down, making them the third-largest consumer item in U.S. landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Plus, they’re not as breathable as other materials, which could make incidents like diaper rashes more common.

Still, plastic diapers from mega brands like Procter & Gamble-owned Pampers and Kimberly-Clark-owned Huggies continue to dominate the market. Amrita Saigal, founder and CEO of Kudos, is looking to change that.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate, mechanical engineer and “Shark Tank” alum developed a sustainable diaper that uses some plastic, but is 100% lined with cotton and incorporates other degradable materials like sugarcane and trees, she tells CNBC.

Later this month, it’ll be the first diaper of its kind to land in retail stores when it launches in approximately 375 Target locations nationwide.

“I am so excited to partner with Target to make history as the first 100% cotton-lined disposable diaper to hit retail shelves,” Saigal said in an interview with CNBC. “It’s just a really big deal for us, especially because Target does not carry many brands.”

Kudos Diapers

Courtesy: HatchMark Studio

In the three years since its launch, Kudos has raised more than $6 million in funding. It closed a $3 million round last month with investments from Precursor Ventures, Xfund and Oversubscribed Ventures.

In the last 12 months, it’s sold more than 20 million diapers and grown sales by more than 100%.

Disruption through innovation

Saigal says she’s long been fascinated by consumer packaged goods and has spent her career figuring out ways to redesign everyday products, like sanitary pads and diapers, in her bid to disrupt an industry long dominated by corporate superpowers.

Her goal? Reduce the globe’s reliance on fossil fuels by building out new supply chains and developing sustainable products that are just as effective – if not better – than competitors.

“I’m not launching a product that is not at par or better than Pampers,” said Saigal.

“Are there eco-friendly alternatives? Yes, but they don’t perform and when it comes to a diaper, we cannot have something that doesn’t perform. You have one blowout, one leak, your parents are already sleep-deprived. They need things that work. They’re not willing to compromise performance for eco-friendly.”

After three years of research and development, Saigal developed a diaper that can absorb far more fluid than competitors like Pampers Pure Protection, Huggies Special Delivery and Honest diapers, according to independent testing conducted by Diaper Testing International.

Pampers didn’t return a request for comment. In a statement, an Honest spokesperson said: “We conduct a wide variety of tests to ensure our products meet our rigorous safety and performance standards. Our philosophy on diaper performance is that in-use testing, which also evaluates comfort, fit and leak protection, is the most accurate indicator of how effective a diaper is at keeping baby comfortable and dry.”

A spokesperson for Kimberly-Clark, which owns Huggies, told CNBC it could not comment because it had not seen the study conducted by Diaper Testing International.

Saigal also developed a proprietary “DoubleDry” technology that brings two layers to the diaper instead of one, which allows it to wick away moisture.

“If you were just to take out the plastic and replace it with cotton, your diaper would fail miserably, because what would happen is your baby would pee and all the urine would just pool, and then your baby’s butt would be wet,” said Saigal. “How do you quickly wick away that urine and poop and then pull it through the layers of the diaper and then evenly disperse it so your baby’s bottom feels dry. So that’s really what our innovation is.”

Kudos is far smaller than its mightier competitors, but Saigal said its size has made the business uniquely positioned to build out new cotton supply chains and help suppliers grow alongside the company.

“For a company like P&G to do this, you’re talking … hundreds of millions of dollars in order to reconfigure their equipment to be able to do it … it’s really hard with their existing supply chains to be able to allow natural materials to actually work in their current process,” said Saigal, who worked for P&G as a design and manufacturing engineer after graduating from MIT.

Even sourcing natural materials for use instead of plastics would be challenging for larger companies because of their scale, Saigal said. Suppliers like cotton farmers tend to have buyers and partners locked in before they grow the requested materials, and since there isn’t yet mass demand for cotton from diaper makers, those supply chains don’t really exist yet at scale, she said.

As more and more smaller brands work with natural material suppliers to develop new supply chains, Saigal hopes that big brands will adopt natural materials over plastic more widely, which could reduce the price of those materials and in turn, make plastics more expensive.

“When do you really get mass adoption of natural materials? The reality is, when natural materials become cheaper than plastic,” she said.

Diaper economics

Kudos faces a daunting landscape of scale.

Buzzy brands that start out by selling directly to consumers and then make their way into retail can face difficulties because of the high cost of inventory and onerous payment terms that come with it.

Hello Bello, a hypoallergenic, sustainable diaper brand founded by celebrity couple Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, filed for bankruptcy in October as it struggled to develop its supply chain after it began selling in retailers like Walmart.

Over the last few years, a number of other consumer product companies and direct-to-consumer brands have faced similar fates after coming up in a funding environment that prioritized growth over profitability.

“In the heyday of DTC, it was like, ‘Don’t worry about the unit economics now, right?’ Like, just top-line growth, top-line growth, top-line growth, and then once you’re at $100 million, $200 million in revenue, then let’s figure out how to make this profitable,” said Saigal, who founded her company in 2021 and secured funding from “Shark Tank” host Mark Cuban and guest Shark Gwyneth Paltrow in 2023.

“I don’t think that model works anymore,” she continued. “It’s like grow slower, but have the unit economics work from day one. I think the brands that are going to be successful now have to have a very, very tight lock on their numbers and their unit economics from the beginning.”

In the year ahead, Saigal’s No. 1 priority for her business is to reach profitability and to get there, she’s keeping her team lean and being strategic with the capital she’s using to pay for inventory ahead of her launch into Target. She’s also had to toe a fine line when it comes to pricing. Her products are more expensive to make than her competitors’, but if the price is too high, she risks alienating potential buyers.

Currently, parents can buy Kudos for between 41 cents and 70 cents per diaper, depending on the size. That compares with a box of Pampers Pure Protection, which runs between 34 cents and 75 cents per diaper, according to a listing on Target.com.

“We are a little bit more expensive just because our raw materials are more expensive, but I’ve tried to keep it as minimal as possible,” said Saigal. “I care so much about being premium, but accessible. That is like exactly what I want to do, so that we are accessible to as many people, and cleaner materials are not out of reach.”

Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to “Shark Tank,” which features Mark Cuban as a panelist.

Science & Environment

Want a Start-up But No Money? Start Your Business…

11 July 2024
by admin

Last Updated: July 11, 2024, 18:25 IST

Launch your online business with them, with no restrictions on the quantity of goods to sell. (Image for representation: Reuters)

We bring you details about a business venture that can be launched with just Rs 10,000, offering the potential to gain international acclaim for your product.

In today’s economic landscape, many are finding success in both small and large-scale businesses. For those eager to start a business but lacking the necessary funds, here is some exciting news. We bring you details about a business venture that can be launched with just Rs 10,000, offering the potential to gain international acclaim for your product.

Achieve global recognition for your product

Noida-based company, Dropsy, established a year ago, employs hundreds directly and indirectly. Founders Upendra Yadav and Sujit Yadav spoke with Local 18, highlighting their unique approach. Unlike many online businesses in India, Dropsy exclusively focuses on products made in India. Their markets span across India, America, Canada, USA, and the Middle East. For those without capital, resources, or market expertise, joining requires only a Rs 10,000 processing fee. This investment promises to elevate your product’s visibility in international markets.

Dropsy boasts an impressive turnover of Rs 50-60 crore

Additionally, they encourage anyone to launch their online business with them, with no restrictions on the quantity of goods to sell. Your earnings scale with your sales volume. From its humble beginnings with a Rs 50,000 investment by Upendra Yadav and Sujit Yadav, Dropsy now boasts a turnover nearing Rs 70 lakh. Considering all associated businesses, their collective turnover reaches an impressive Rs 50 to 60 crore.

To connect with Dropsy, visit their website at www.thedropsy.com. They also host seminars periodically to facilitate connections with potential partners.

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