MRIDA GREENS & DEVELOPMENT PRIVATE LIMITED

In their own words

The India based Mrida Group (www.mridagroup.com, www.facebook.com/mridaassociates) is a Social Business Venture that seeks to build financially viable business models aimed at sustainable and scalable, holistic development at the Bottom of the Pyramid. Mrida (Sanskrit for ‘Soil’) sets up solar micro grids to provide last mile energy access to remote villages not connected to the grid. It then promotes use of the energy access not as an end in itself, but as a means to an end – as a catalyst facilitating education, community engagement, skill development and women’s empowerment, leading to all round development. Mrida also works with small and marginal farmers and remote underserved communities in the areas of productivity improvement, livelihoods, development of local leadership, creation of market linkages, and so on, which are key to sustainability. Building on the Corporate background and experience of the promoters, the objective is to bring the same discipline and the financial rigor of the business world into the development sector, showcasing business led social impact that is sustainable as well as scalable. Mrida then, is in the business of development. Through its Earthspired Brand (www.earthspired.com, www.facebook.com/earthspiredbymrida), Mrida builds market linkages for small and marginal farmers - providing a range of health and wellness related products to the end user, while fulfilling a social and environmental cause, and creating a business for itself. Earthspired is today taught as a Case Study at INSEAD, under the topic ‘Building a Brand for Social Impact’. Mrida Greens & Organics Pvt. Ltd., a processing unit in Gujarat which makes extracts of plants and herbs, provides value addition and sustainable livelihood/income enhancement opportunities for farmers and village folk, quality products for B2B customers, and a business opportunity for the Group. Through Mrida Renergy & Development Pvt. Ltd., the Group partners with Corporate entities to develop and implement customized, integrated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. The focus is again on a ‘business approach’ – treating CSR funds as ‘investments’, with quantified impact assessment and ROI calculations being an integral part of any intervention. Mrida’s CSR partners over the years have included Mahindra & Mahindra, IL&FS, Reliance Foundation, Rio Tinto, INOX Air Products and Hero Motors Group Companies. The three verticals above complement and supplement each other to evolve self-sustaining virtuous circles of holistic development, using business models that create social, environmental and economic impact. Over the 4 years since inception, Mrida has been able to successfully showcase proof of concept and demonstrate impact for over 20,000 individuals across 42 villages in 7 States of India. Through its diverse yet strategically aligned and synergistic business verticals of Mrida Renergy, Mrida Greens, and Mrida Earthspired, the Group achieved cash breakeven during the financial year 2017-18 while clocking revenues of INR 57 million. Over the next 3 years, Vision 2020 visualizes self-sustaining business operations impacting 100,000 individuals at the Bottom of the Pyramid with a topline of upto INR 450 million - figures further envisaged to scale up to 1 million BoP individuals impacted across 10 countries, and a top line of upto INR 5000 million by the year 2024-25. Having operated as a self funded entity so far, and having demonstrated proof of concept, sustainability and the ability to scale, the Group is now seeking growth funding and strategic tie-ups and collaborations, to scale up impact as well as business to the next level(s).

Written by the company on its public Startup India profile. Not verified by us.