KASARGOD:
Chhavi Rajawat, the ‘Power woman of India’ known for her path-breaking rural empowerment initiatives as Sarpanch of Soda village in Rajasthan, will be a key speaker at the Rural India Business Conclave being organized by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) and the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) here on March 1st and 2nd.
The meet mainly aims at inspiring and supporting startups to launch ventures by leveraging technology to unleash the untapped economic potential of rural areas when the country has set an ambitious target of becoming a USD five trillion economy by 2024.
Rajawat, who spurned the power and pelf of a corporate career on the strength of her brilliant academic qualifications, will share her experience on how successfully village and women empowerment activities could be carried out for the social and economic progress of the country’s rural communities.
She has led the qualitative transformation of her native water-starved village with the active participation of the community, and has been recipient of coveted honours like Young Global Leader award at the World Economic Forum.
The Business Conclave will see the participation of startup entrepreneurs from the country’s villages, innovators of new technology in the field of agriculture, NGOs working in rural economies, investors and business networks. The event will host a seminar titled ‘Dream Big – Kalpa’ to introduce the technological advancements made in farming by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and CPCRI.
On the opening day, the meet will focus on “Strengthening the rural India and agricultural sector through technology,” where top rural-oriented startups will talk and interact. This segment will include ‘founders’ talk’, panel discussions involving experts on technology for rural development, startup promoters, academics and investment meets.
Prominent speakers include KSUM CEO Dr Saji Gopinath, founder of Fresh-to-Home Mathews, Senthil Kumar, who developed Save Mom digital system, Sikandar Mira Naik who drew global attention for efforts to recharge desiccated water sources, Dr Saji Verghese who successfully proved coconut leaf could replace plastic straws, and co-founder of Green Worms Jamsheer.
The proceedings of the second day will explore great opportunities awaiting social-agri startups. Top mentor and investor of rural startups Nagaraja Prakasam will lead the deliberations. There will be a special session titled “Dream Big Kalpa” and a segment on legal aid needed to start rural-oriented startups.
Those interested in participating in the conclave can register themselves by visiting https://Startupmission.in/rural_business_conclave/ . The first hundred registrants will be able to attend the meet. Also, an Agri Hackathon and Agri Expo have also been planned ahead of the conclave. The entry to the exhibition will be free.
