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Five Indian rural-focused start-ups showcased their maturation stories, innovative concern models and scaling strategies astatine the Philanthropy Asia Summit (PAS) present connected Tuesday (May 19, 2026), highlighting however technology-driven enterprises are improving livelihoods and promoting sustainable improvement successful agrarian India.
The 2nd time of the summit, themed “Innovation Spotlight", brought unneurotic innovators, start-ups and societal enterprises moving crossed agriculture, renewable energy, agrarian improvement and sustainable livelihoods.
For dairy farmers
Mumbai-based Digivriddhi (DGV), an integrated financial, security and marketplace level for dairy farmers, highlighted however it has built a integer fiscal ecosystem serving astir 10 lakh farmers successful little than 7 years.
Operating crossed 8 states, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Maharashtra, DGV works with banks and fiscal institutions to bring tiny dairy farmers into the ceremonial fiscal system.
“The steadfast provides the fiscal instauration that agrarian dairy farmers ne'er had,” said Sowmiya Venkatesan, Executive Director of DGV, during her presumption astatine the summit.
Speaking to The Hindu, DGV Group Founder and CEO Ragavan Venkatesan said the institution aims to disburse ₹300 crore successful loans to dairy farmers during 2026-27. “In the past fiscal year, DGV disbursed astir ₹100 crore to dairy farmers done assorted banks and cooperatives,” helium said.
The company, which has a workforce of astir 150 employees, is looking to rise USD 10 cardinal to grow its operations. DGV has besides integrated security with loans to guarantee quicker betterment and trim risks for lending institutions.
Repurposing temple flowers
Another Indian start-up, Phool, founded by Ankit Agarwal, showcased however it is addressing the contented of temple angiosperm discarded being dumped into rivers specified arsenic the Ganga by converting it into eco-friendly products.
The Kanpur-based institution has developed “Fleather”, a biodegradable plant-based alternate to carnal and synthetic leather.
“It is turning mundane discarded from culturally embedded practices into sustainable use,” Mr. Agarwal said.
Phool employs women and low-income workers successful labour-intensive activities specified arsenic sorting, rolling and packaging angiosperm waste, thereby generating unchangeable livelihoods for communities with constricted employment opportunities. Mr. Agarwal said the institution plans to standard up operations to much Indian cities.
Solar-powered nutrient processing
S4S Technologies, founded successful 2013 by Vaibhav Tidke and others, demonstrated however solar-powered nutrient processing tin trim post-harvest losses and summation farmers’ incomes.
The institution converts damaged oregon surplus workplace nutrient into nutrient ingredients astatine the workplace gross and supplies them to the nutrient and beverage industry.
Beyond nutrient processing, S4S promotes women-led micro-enterprises and helps physique section skills and income ownership successful agrarian communities.
Mr. Tidke said the institution provides affordable solar-powered dryers and food-processing instrumentality that let farmers to sphere crops locally alternatively of depending connected costly acold retention systems. He said thousands of smallholder women farmers associated with S4S person recorded important increases successful income.
Clean energy
Other start-ups featured astatine the acme included e-Bik Accelero, which focuses connected electrical bicycles and tricycles, and Envo Renewable Energy Solutions (ERES), which provides affordable cleanable vigor solutions successful distant regions of Northeast India.
The startups highlighted however agrarian innovation and sustainable concern models are creating economical opportunities portion addressing biology and societal challenges.
More than 30 start-ups from crossed Asia showcased their maturation stories during the day.
(Nagesh Prabhu is successful Singapore astatine the invitation of Philanthropy Asia Alliance)
