Although the ‘Profession of Hope’ is the major source of livelihood for more than half of our country’s population, it faces perennial headwinds like availability of enabling infrastructure, access to markets for true price discovery and paucity of innovative solutions to keep pace with the changing ecosystem. In the backdrop of a burgeoning urban population with ever growing demand for fresh vegetables and the vegetable growers in rural and semi-urban areas looking to get a fair price for their produce, the time is ripe for effective market linkage solutions that have an agenda of social entrepreneurship. The rapid advent of technology, enabling tools and progressive policy interventions have made it possible to devise effective solutions with localised innovations.

As a son of the soil, Gyanendra Acharya was not alien to the conditions of the farmers in Odisha which is one of the largest producers of agricultural commodities in the eastern India. Their access to a larger market platform beyond the local mandi would remove the problems associated with price asymmetry and ensure their prosperity and not be held at ransom by the plethora of

middlemen. Gyanendra joined VeggieKart as the CEO in 2017 with the objective to create an alternative vegetable ecosystem that maximises the benefits for the producers and the consumers.

Bhubaneswar headquartered VeggieKart with its state-of-the-art and food–safe facility strives to be best in class with respect to quality of produce, safety and value for consumers

Prior to VeggieKart, Gyanendra co-founded a technology start-up Ekistics Solutions. He has also worked in senior positions in the corporate sector. With the unique blend of grassroots experience and exposure to best in class corporate practices, Gyanendra is passionate about building enterprises in the field of Agro-Commerce, Health and Education. Explicating on his journey at Veggiekart, Gyanendra says, “Looking at the current farm scenario in Odisha, there are a large number of small holding farmers unlike the ones from the states of Punjab or Haryana who have more consolidated & organized holdings. These challenges can be effectively bridged through a digital ecosystem combined with a localised approach and augmented with a technology driven operational efficiency.”

Benefiting the Farmers& Consumers
With hard work, perseverance and dedication, VeggieKart has been able to win the trust of all its

stakeholders. Currently, with 150+ farmers, the company’s mission is to provide the consumers with fresh vegetables at competitive price points. “Our twin intent is to maximise the economic benefits for the farmers and provide access nutritious and fresh vegetables for the consumers,” avers Acharya.

VeggieKart’s business model includes ‘Farm to Business’&‘Farm to Consumers’ distribution mechanisms. Armed with efficient logistics, processing, and distribution, the company has partnered with large retailers and other local channels. VeggieKart facilitates the online buyers through its portal ‘myveggiekart.com’.

VeggieKart’s unique initiative ‘VeggieLite’ aims to provide nutrition through vegetable consumption through local vegetable vendors in the urban slums.

Exploring Opportunities
Bhubaneswar headquartered VeggieKart with its state-of-the-art and food–safe facility strives tobe best in class with respect to quality of produce, safety and value for consumers. Generating revenues of more than 5 crores per annum, the company looks forward to adding diet vegetables, exotic fruits, vegetables and kitchen recipes in its bouquet of offerings. It aims to capture 20 percent market in the coming 2 years of time by taking the daily throughput to 50 tonnes per day by 2020. The venture is funded by Pankaj Lochan Mohanty, with a seed investment of USD 1 million. Currently he serves as the Chairman of VeggieKart.