Advancing rural innovations: The second Unnati ShowcaseA key priority for the AGNIi Mission is to advance the interests of digital entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs, and expand the reach of promising technologies to remote and rural areas. AGNIi has therefore created rural launch points that will allow innovations to flourish in underserved and grassroots markets.

One of these, in collaboration with Mann Deshi Foundation, is a series of technology showcases called Unnati Technology Series - तंत्रज्ञानाद्वारे प्रत्येकाची प्रगती for women entrepreneurs in Maharashtra. The theme areas are digital entrepreneurship, food processing, rural livelihood and packaging.

On 13 May, AGNIi hosted the 2nd showcase of the Unnati Technology Series. For technology scouting, we collaborated with Global Business Inroads and shortlisted following technologies:  

  • Perfura Technologies- Technology for post-harvest processing of grains in global agricultural field. The technology helps in processing goods according to the demands of customer with the optimum utilization of resources.
  • Craste – A technology that provides sustainable packaging solution alternatives to timber-based paper and by utilizing the abundant surplus crop residue left behind for burning after the harvest.
  • Devidayal Solar Solutions - They create solutions in the renewable energy space such as maternity kit, refrigerators, solar panels, etc.
  • Reshma Sutra - It provides innovative renewable energy based machines for rural silk yarn producers and fabric weavers.  

53 women entrepreneurs from rural Maharashtra participated in the showcase, and the innovators directly engaged with them to pitch their technologies and garner feedback. AGNIi will continue to facilitate further rural launch points in accordance with our overarching mission.