SarvaGram Plans to Strengthen Its Distribution & Mechanisation Services through SarvaMitra

Rural Fintech major SarvaGram plans to bolster its distribution and mechanization services for rural and semi-urban underbanked market segments through the franchisee model SarvaMitra. SarvaMitra Shopee is the unique one-stop solution for underbanked rural markets for loan and farm implementation requirements and plays a pivotal role in furthering the distribution of credit & mechanization offerings by SarvaGram.

The SarvaMitra or the owner of the SarvaMitra franchisee is SarvaGram’s last-mile partner that helps in fulfilling farm rental services. All types of advanced farm machines like cultivators, rotavators, harvesters, threshers, transplanters, sprayers, drones, reapers, tillers, weeders, etc. on pay per use basis are provided through SarvaMitra Shopee.

The etymology of the word SarvaMitra comes from Sarva meaning Everybody and Mitra meaning Friend. It is a franchisee-based model where the owner is a local area resident, who is trained and empowered by SarvaGram to facilitate credit access and farm mechanization for Farmers, MSMEs and agri-aligned entrepreneurs in the region.

The program taps into the familiarity, trust, and deep understanding of the need-gaps of the community that the SarvaMitra holds. These attributes play a significant role in cultivating adoption in rural landscapes making the experience for first-time borrowers & tech novice rural entrepreneurs more seamless and convenient

SarvaGram’s tech-based platform fulfills the service order within an industry-best turnaround time offered within the rural landscape. The results are an efficient use of the equipment that benefits the small/marginal farmers in terms of increased productivity, lowered costs and lowered dependence on manual labour. The presence of SarvaMitra in one region benefits other equipment owners in the vicinity as they can then become SarvaGram’s partner (SarvaMitra’s) by taking the franchisee.

Apart from farm implements, consumer durable loan, gold loan and farm loans are other SarvaGram products available via SarvaMitra. For FY’23, customers can also avail of insurance offerings from their nearest SarvaMitra franchisee.

Commenting on this milestone, Utpal Isser, Co-founder, MD and CEO, SarvaGram, shared, “At SarvaGram we understand that trust and relationships are key cogs of rural entrepreneurship and scale. SarvaMitra as a unique rural franchisee program aims to incorporate just that in our distribution approach by empowering and partnering with local community leaders. Having launched in 2021, we have already seen the tremendous response and positive gratification received by our SarvaMitras across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka. In FY’23, we are planning on increasing the number of SarvaMitra franchises as well as expanding our network of franchises to other states.”

A great example of SarvaMitra’s effectiveness for its rural target audience is the story of Kanitlal Daundakar, an onion farmer from village Karnjwane in Maharashtra. Kanitlal used to hire manual labour for hand transplanting of onions in his field. The introduction and procuring of a new Seed cum Fertilizer Implement via the local SarvaMitra resulted in a vast difference in the method of sowing as the cost per acre came down dramatically.

Earlier, Kanitlal had to spend 7,000 - 8,000 per acre, often to the tune of 10,000 per acre for the farming activity. But post mechanization, he only had to spend 2000-2500 per acre for the same. This also resulted in reduced dependence on labour with significant improvements in productivity.

Currently, 203 SarvaMitra franchises exist across the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka. In accordance with the registered business growth and expected trajectory, SarvaGram expects to increase its tally of SarvaMitra franchises to 600, up to 3X from the current number, and also plans to expand on the number of states it is present in.

SarvaGram’s business numbers in conjunction include crossing the 172 crore mark in AUM since starting operations in June 2019. The organization currently serves 20,000 households thus far, with projections of catering to 15,00,000 households in the next 5 years. In addition to that, SarvaGram has also registered a significant increase in its annual recurring revenue (ARR), taking the number to over 55 crore INR for FY’22.