29th - 30th October 2021 - Bangalore.
Technology professional with over 35 years’ global experience with over 16 years in Indian Army and 16 years in Telecoms / Networking Industry.
In 2017, I ventured into social entrepreneurship with three friends, one from Indian Army and two from #Cisco. We have co-founded two organisations,
Gratitude Farms and Gramonnati Trust.
Gratitude Farms Private Limited is an #AgriTech #startup that is all about organic farming. We are a social impact enterprise that aims to
provide dignified #livelihood opportunities for ex-servicemen, rural women and youth through organic farming, solar drying projects and urban
community organic farming.
Among today's #startups I take pride in sharing that Gratitude farms as an agritech is now emerging as a knowledge base startup providing
authentic #organicfarming knowledge.
When I ask people who is your family doctor I always get a quick response, but when I ask have you thought about who is your family farmer
I receive a silent look. This is where I share that Gratitude Farms is your family farmer. Our zero mile concept is bringing fresh
vegetables for more than 2000 customers across #Pondicherry #Chennai and #Thiruvannamalai.
Our ex-soldiers especially disabled soldiers and rural women #leadership is now evolving dignified livelihood through solar dried
value added products. My prime goal now is to support #health of our customers with #organicfood supply.
Prior to Gratitude Farms along with my friends I co-founded Gramonnati Trust which is a not-for-profit social enterprise that aims
to support rural transformation through technology and entrepreneurship. It is based in Pondicherry. Our focus is to develop
ex-soldiers, women and youth as job-creators instead of job-seekers.
Why rural entrepreneurship? Because nothing democratizes wealth better than micro-entrepreneurship; if done at scale,
in villages, it could help first reduce and then reverse migration of youth from villages to urban areas, even as it
helps transform villages to become hubs of development. In next 5 -10 years, through our work in Gramonnati, we hope
to be “catalysts” of rural transformation by tapping into rural India’s vast human capital, developing selected youth,
women and ex-soldiers into rural entrepreneurs who can create job opportunities with sustainable economic and social
progress for themselves and their communities.
I invite you to participate in this journey of nourishing unused land into organic space and co-create dignified sustainable livelihood.