Sowing seeds of growth

THE INITIAL MOTIVATION OF THE ARCHITECT OF INDIA'S HIGHEST-VALUED AGRITECH STARTUP WAS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO THE LIVES OF PEOPLE IN HIS HOMETOWN CHHAPRA IN BIHAR

- S SHANTHI

AFTER GRADUATING FROM IIT Delhi in 2008 and working in a consulting firm for three years, Shashank Kumar, co-founder and CEO of DeHaat, decided to go back to his roots and do something that could make a difference to the people of his hometown, Chhapra in Bihar, where most are still dependent on agricultural income.

His immediate family was not directly involved in farm work, but agriculture remained an abiding passion as he grew up with families whose lives were linked with farm work. Kumar's parents wanted him to study at one of the best boarding schools in the state. It was not easy to get admission there as the school had 100 vacancies for which more than 12,000 students applied. He, however, made it look easy by not only clearing the test but also receiving a 100% government scholarship. This meant for the next few years he had access to the best infrastructure, career guidance, a disciplined environment and more, but without any financial burden on his parents.

Even at the consulting firm he worked at after IIT, he got a chance to work with a host of marquee food companies, which were essentially the other end of the food chain. "I got exposed to both ends of agriculture, the farmer side as well as the consumer side. That motivated me to start thinking more and more about the agri space."