Samunnati Foundation inks MoU with IITMIC to support agritech start-ups

Samunnati Foundation, a non-profit subsidiary of Samunnati Financial Intermediation and Services Private Ltd, and IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to encourage innovative technologies in agriculture and allied areas in India and promote agritech start-ups to improve farmer incomes, reduce waste and encourage sustainable agriculture.

Through this partnership, the organizations will provide incubation support/facilities to entrepreneurial ventures, prepare position papers and propose policy recommendations.

This collaboration ties into Samunnati Foundation’s goal of creating a tangible difference in the lives of entrepreneurs among unserved/underserved agricultural communities. By partnering with IITMIC, Samunnati aims to provide strategic and operational guidance, training, mentoring, networking, and other necessary resources to help India’s visionary agritech start-ups establish themselves as well as scale their presence.

Sharing his/her views on the partnership, Anilkumar SG, Founder and CEO, Samunnati said, “We as a country are witnessing a buoyancy in the entrepreneurial energy, especially in agriculture. It is heartening to see several youngsters from IITs/IIMs taking up entrepreneurship in agriculture. We also see a lot of private capital flowing into these young start-ups. Being an ecosystem player, Samunnati aims to nurture this entrepreneurial energy by collaborating with premier institutions to incubate, nurture and scale these ideas which can transform the agri space in this country with a focus on the smallholder farmer. We are excited about this partnership with IIT Madras.”

Speaking on the outcome of this collaboration, Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala, President, IITMIC and IIT Madras Research Park said, “This partnership focuses on encouraging innovative technologies in agriculture and allied areas and to work together in developing the ecosystem necessary to support entrepreneurs, and jointly incubate start-ups in this space.”

Some key areas and technologies will be jointly explored, especially under Sustainable Agriculture. Alternative crops will be sought to be promoted. There will be research on the types of millets and promotion of millet-based menus through the commercialization of millet food items.

Efforts will be made to adopt a green agricultural ecosystem — green agricultural machinery, solar pumps, finance-related technology products, and electric vehicles for agri transport.