.While India’s startup ecosystem is maturing, rural agri-tech startups are still an untapped opportunity and are lagging behind, industry players focused on rural innovation said on Friday during a panel discussion at the second edition of Startup Mahakumbh. The three-day event is taking place at Bharat Mandapam here.
Speaking on the theme Financing Bharat: Unlocking Startup Growth Beyond India One, Ajay K Sood, deputy managing director of NABARD, said, “Rural India is really facing this crisis as agriculture is the only sector which has been left off the ground. If India has to achieve its Viksit Bharat dream, then rural areas have to develop and to solve the problems of the rural areas, rural agri-tech is the solution.”
Echoing Sood’s thoughts, Rajat Tandon, president of Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA), said that even if agri-tech has immense potential for growth and innovation, it is largely an overlooked opportunity. “Out of $50–60 billion which is invested every year, only a billion dollars goes into agri-space, which is very less. It's probably time to look at how we as domestic capital kind of boost it up.”
On the investment opportunities, Tandon added that in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, the cost of investing in a startup is 30–40 per cent less than in metro cities. “It is an untapped market. There are different challenges in these cities, which makes it an opportunity for more innovation to be built. Even talent is far more affordable in these cities.”
Vikas Bali, chief executive officer of Intellecap, which provides advisory and consultancy services, said that awareness, accessibility, and affordability are key issues in addressing the last mile in the rural areas. “You cannot design products and services for Bharat (rural India) the way you do for India (urban India),” he said.