Pune, 29th 2024: In a pathbreaking initiative aimed at fostering collaboration and innovation within the agricultural sector, a group of agritech founders successfully organized the biggest and one of the only by the founders for the founders Agri Founders Retreat in Jaipur on the 22nd and 23rd at Bhanwar Singh Palace. The event brought together over 50 agritech founders from diverse segments of the agri-sector for two days of unfiltered discussions, shared learning, and strategic collaboration.
Agriculture, being a core sector known for its interdisciplinary complexity and unique challenges, often creates frustration and resentment at its stake, while founders navigate forces within and beyond their control, in their lonely paths to create meaningful impact for farmers while building twenty-first-century businesses. The Agri Founders Retreat was conceived to address this very issue. The core belief driving the event was simple yet profound: Agriculture is too big and complex to thrive only on competition without collaboration. The gathering was premised on the importance of collaboration & interconnectedness to find holistic solutions that transcend individual efforts and create a step change in the ecosystem in a warming planet.
The event brought together founders from across the agricultural spectrum—including well-funded startups, emerging enterprises, and innovators in market linkage, food processing, mechanization, precision technology, inputs, exports, services, and financing. This diverse representation allowed for a rich exchange of ideas, experiences, and expertise, fostering a collaborative environment where shared challenges were addressed with collective insight and foresight.
The retreat’s agenda was structured in an unconventional unconference style to allow room for no-holds-barred conversations that reflected real-world challenges, pain points, and brass tack learnings earned by the founders in the room. Founders were encouraged to share their journeys, successes, and setbacks in an open forum, creating a rare atmosphere of vulnerability and mutual respect. The themes covered Output, Inputs, Regulatory, Talent, Funding & Distribution. This unique approach enabled participants to identify common problems faced by the sector and begin curating shared solutions that could benefit the entire agricultural ecosystem.
The Agri Founders Retreat in Jaipur marks the beginning of a new era of collaboration in the agricultural industry. By bringing together the brightest minds in agri-tech and innovation, Agri Founders India has set the stage for continued partnerships and breakthroughs that will drive the sector forward. As founders return to their respective ventures, the insights gained and relationships forged at the retreat are expected to lead to tangible, positive impacts on farmers, consumers, and the industry at large.
Speaking on the occasion of the agri-founders retreat and on behalf of the Agri Founders India organizers, Venky Ramachandran, shared that “We wanted to create a space for founders to share their struggles, victories, angst and concerns in chasing moonshot goals in Indian Agriculture. “
Sharing his experience about the event, Scion Agricos Founder Chiranjeevi said, “It was clear that a lot of thought went into curating the experience for all participants”
Speaking on the energy of the event, Vinay Nikam, Group CEO, of Deola Group shared, “The atmosphere was electric, filled with collaboration, innovation, and the collective ambition to propel our ecosystem forward.”
This community-driven endeavor was sponsored by Scion Agricos, Balwaan Krishi, and AVPL International with the firm conviction to foster a community-driven partnership to bring together the stakeholders to address the pressing challenges in Indian Agriculture. The organizers include Vinay Nikam (Deola Agro Group), Shailendra Singh (Yuktix Technologies), Kalyani Shinde (Godaam Innovations), Vijay Dhole (MitraSena), Dinesh Santhanam (Samarpanam Organic Farm), Jasveer Singh (Sense it Out), Amrendra Singh (DeHaat), Renuka Diwan (Bioprime Agrisolutions) and Venky Ramchandran (Agribusiness Matters).