Apna Godam: Redefining Agri-Tech with Bold Sustainability and Social Impact Initiatives

Sustainability is a hot topic around the world right now, and almost every startup and big businesses are in race to become sustainable. They are integrating practices that reduce carbon footprints, minimize waste, and promote the conservation of natural resources in their business model.

Where some businesses are trying to come up with ideas to implement sustainability successfully, Apna Godam, an agritech startup, has built a business model that integrates sustainable ideas into the core of their operations.

Apna Godam is an agritech startup in India. It provides warehousing facilities and online commodity financing to farmers across India. In addition, Apna Godam facilitates an online platform that allows farmers, traders and buyers to trade in commodities online. Thus helping in better price discovery and providing facilities for smooth marketing of their produce.

They locate closed factories, old sheds, and abandoned buildings near production areas and transform them into agricultural terminals. These terminals allow sellers to store their agricultural commodities and obtain loans by pledging their stock. When the prices of their produce improve, they can sell their stock to millers on the Apna Godam portal on an "as is where is" basis.

From Concept to Creation: The Journey of the Idea

The CEO of Apna Godam, Sanjay Agarwal, is a Chartered Accountant and Company Secretary. While working at HDFC Bank, he managed loan operations and disbursed loans. One day, he discovered a scheme launched by NABARD, where the government was offering subsidies for opening warehouses for agricultural commodities.

The government aimed to increase the number of warehouses because having adequate storage is essential, not only for food grain storage but also for helping farmers achieve better prices. Without enough warehousing facilities, farmers are often forced to sell their produce during harvest time at lower prices.

He found this opportunity lucrative, and decided to pursue it. However, he soon realized that buying land and constructing new warehouses would be capital-intensive and time-consuming. Instead, he began looking for closed factories, old sheds, and abandoned buildings near production areas to convert them into agricultural terminals. He placed ads in newspapers asking property owners with unused spaces to rent them out for warehouse use. His strategy paid off, and he received over 6,000 calls from people interested in renting their properties for this purpose.

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Although he was overwhelmed by the number of calls, he was also curious about why so many properties, especially those ideal for warehouses, were not being used. As he began to investigate this, He noticed that most of the warehouses he visited were painted with advertisements for cement. After looking into it, he realized that before GST was introduced in 2017, there was a tax called OCTROI. This tax was imposed by local or state governments on certain goods as they entered an area. It was essentially a fee for allowing goods to pass through that jurisdiction. To avoid paying this tax, cement dealers would set up warehouses right in front of the OCTROI collection center. They stored the cement in these warehouses and later transported it to the center in vehicles to dodge the OCTROI duty. Once GST was implemented, the OCTROI tax was eliminated.

The back story of the unused warehouse turned out to be a blessing for Apna Godam. This was the successful beginning of their startup, built on a foundation of sustainability.

Advancing sustainability with new verticals

Apna Godam continued to focus on sustainability. With each new vertical they launched they aimed to make it sustainable. When they started Singodwala Fintech Pvt. Ltd. under the brand name Apna Godam Finance, to lend money to farmers, against pledged stock stored in their warehouses. They ensured that the entire process would be paperless, and it turned out to be a successful idea. Now farmers can complete the entire loan process in just ten minutes using their app. They no longer need to visit a bank or finance company, which saves both time and capital. They also do not need to deal with any paperwork to get their loans which saves resources and makes the process more convenient for them.

Apna Godam's commitment to becoming a sustainable startup goes far beyond the initial efforts. They have now launched an online spot trading platform for farmers and traders. This innovative approach includes a phygital warehousing system, which combines digital experiences with physical interactions. This system allows sellers and buyers to make phone calls and place their online trades through an IVR system, making the trading process more accessible.

Apna Godam offers an online trading platform for various agricultural commodities where farmers, traders, processors, exporters, and importers can buy and sell in a transparent manner. This initiative helps save resources significantly. No one now needs to travel to find out the prices of agricultural commodities. Instead, this can be done from the comfort of their home.

This platform increases convenience for farmers by streamlining the trading process. With easy access to market information and the ability to trade online, farmers can make informed decisions without the hassle of unnecessary travel.

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Summary

Apna Godam's efforts not only support sustainability by reducing the carbon footprint from travel, but also enhance the quality of life of farmers. By simplifying their work, Apna Godam is making a significant impact on both the environment and the livelihoods of people in the agricultural sector. It is very important for us to embrace sustainability in today's world. As global warming and climate change increase, the need for sustainable practices is becoming even more urgent. Startups like Apna Godam provide innovative solutions that can help improve the situation. Now is the time for us to take action and adopt sustainable ideas to create a better future for all.