Greenikk is an agritech platform, built to provide farmers with the required support such as finance, seeds, crop advisory, insurance coverage, agricultural inputs such as weather tips, machinery usage, etc, and market connect with both inside and outside the country.
Greenikk Company highlights:
| Company Name | Greenikk Sustainable Ventures Pvt. Ltd |
| Website | https://greenikk.com/ |
| Founded | 14th January 2020 |
| Founders | Previn Jacob Varghese and Fariq Noushad |
| Mission | To help solve problems of every Banana value chain stakeholder |
| Industry | IT services and consulting |
| Headquarters | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala |
Greenikk Founder’s story:
In 2019, when single-use plastics were banned in India, Previn got the idea to convert Papaya petiole into a sustainable straw. He and Fariq, who were friends from college, worked with a scientist to bring out the end product. Greenikk won recognition as one of the top 3 social start-ups in the country, in 2020 because of this product. They continued to work with papaya farmers until 2020.
After the economy opened up post-pandemic, they shifted their focus on the Banana crop as India is the highest producer of it globally and also because it was an all-around crop.
Greenikk Mission
“To help solve the problems of every Banana value chain stakeholder.”
Greenikk Business Model:
Greenikk considers the Banana as a plant rather than just a fruit, with the value taken from all the parts of the banana plant (Leaf, Stem, Flower) which usually go to waste. In the course of organizing this 200-year-old fruit and vegetable supply chain, they had to face tremendous pressure, resistance from stakeholders, and also threats from dealers to not approach farmers directly. They were also cheated a few times along the way, “We had also reached a stage where we had to close down the company twice because of zero cash. This made us change our business models three times.”, says Fariq.
Now the company sells bananas to bulk B2B buyers like chips manufacturers, export agents, and large wholesalers. They are also investing in R&D actively.
Greenikk Funding
The company grew 300% in FY22, with sales of 1.58 crores. Fariq shared that the start-up is projected to end the current financial year at Rs 6 crores.
Last month Greenikk raised Rs 5.04 crores in pre-seed funding led by 9 Unicorn ventures and 5 other Indian and foreign investors.
Greenikk Future plans
The company plans to have a model farm setup in the Theni and Mettupalayam districts of Tamil Nadu, where the latest banana farming practices will be used.
“We will also be having end value-added products made from bananas (chips, banana powder, banana wine), while its waste will be used for making banana fibre, handicrafts and textile products – all under our own brand,” adds Fariq. The startup will also set up artisan units (fiber to fashion) in Kochi, Kerala and Theni, Tamil Nadu.
Greenikk wants to reach out to 50,000 farmers in the next 15 months.
They are a 12-member team currently, with Previn and Fariq as directors.
