New Delhi (Sputnik) — Indian startup ‘Kheyti,’ that provides technological solutions to farmers, has won the MassChallenge Israel – a global competition that promotes and accelerates high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs. Kheyti went through a three-month process before sharing the honor with an Israeli startup as the “diamond winners” of this year’s contest.
“All the teams in MassChallenge were solving some of the most pressing problems in the world. What set Kheyti apart is its unique position to leverage agriculture technology from Israel, customize it and distribute it to small farmers in India,” Saumya Co-Founder of Kheyti told Sputnik.
Kheyti, a name derived from the Hindi word for farming, started its operation in the year 2015 in Shamirpet in Hyderabad with an initial investment of about $26500.
“It is good news for the Indian agro-industry as a whole. When meaningful start-ups like Kheyti wins an accolade it sends a message of encouragement and hope for several others who want to make a difference in the field of agricultural innovation and development,” agricultural expert and convener of Start-Up India Forum Vijay Sardana told Sputnik.
“An award to Kheyti means recognition of a meaningful model which takes the paradigm of a start-up in India beyond just marketing and sales ideas,” Vijay Sardana added.
“Winning the award further strengthens the vision our Prime Minister spoke about in his visit to Israel earlier this year. Countries like Israel have the technologies but lack a sizable market. Organizations like Kheyti are trying to bridge that gap by getting the right technologies to the people who need it the most. We understand farmers and have the ability to adapt hi-tech products and services to the needs of the bottom of the pyramid. We look forward to working with many more technology partners for reducing cost and increasing accessibility. Our vision is to make farming a sustainable profession for each farmer we work with and impact 1 million farmer lives by 2025,” Saumya further added.
