Upaya's second accelerator program, focused on the agribusiness industry in India, successfully launched with a workshop in Bangalore on May 29-June 1. Leaders from 11 agribusiness startups, representing 11 different cities around India, attended the workshop. The 11 companies selected to participate in the accelerator were chosen from a pool of 281 applicants.
Leaders from 11 agribusinesses attended Upaya's accelerator workshop in Bangalore.
The May workshop, held at The Grand Magrath in Bangalore, was the first of three workshops in the 2018 accelerator program. Session topics included pitch coaching, refining financial plans, and managing working capital. The cohort entrepreneurs participated in lively discussions with investors, industry leaders, and Upaya portfolio entrepreneurs.
The workshop featured successful business leaders such as PK Gopalakrishnan, the CEO and MD of WeP Solutions Ltd., and Amrut Joshi, the Founder of GameChanger Law Advisors. The cohort heard from Sandeep Farias, the Founder and MD of Elevar Equity and Naga Prakasam, Angel Investor and Founding Angel at the Indian Angel Network. Investors from Kinara Capital, Menterra Venture Advisors, Yunus Social Business, and Sattva spoke with the group as well. The cohort also spent time working one-on-one with with successful professionals on their financial models. The full workshop itinerary is available here.
“We will continue to refine our financial model with the direction we got from our mentor.”
Kunal Bhatia (center) and Shagun Setia (left), work through their financial plan with their mentor, Shreyansh from Ankur Capital.
The Upaya Accelerator Program consists of three workshops over a four-month period. At the end of the program, Upaya expects to select up to three of the cohort companies for investment.
The agribusiness cohort includes the following companies:
Aicya Organics, Jitendra Yadav, Kanpur
FIB-SOL, Dr. Kavitha Sairam, Chennai
GO DESi, Vinay Kothari, Bangalore
Gramshree, Rakesh Gupta, Jaipur
Happy Roots, Reema Sathe, Pune
Laymen Agro, Selvakumar Varadharajan, Coimbatore
ONganic, Ekta Jaju, Kolkata
Rural Roots, Kunal Bhatia, Delhi
Taank Brothers, Vinod Taank & Sushil Taank, Panipat
Yasasree, Aneel Kumar, Kadapa
ZooFresh Foods, Sadananda Satapathy & Ambika Satapathy, Bhawanipatna
