Venkat is an IIT Kharagpur alumnus (Class of 1995 B.Arch) and completed his Masters in Computer Science from SUNY, Albany, NY(2003) . After a 12 years career in IT industry, he returned to India after a 6 years stint in US . He started eFarm, a social entrepreneurial firm based in Chennai, India which focuses on agri supply chain .
eFarm is in supply chain and distribution of farm produce and connects a network of farmers, transport operators and buyers linked through a unique, technology driven system. It is India's first common, shared platform for the unorganised sector in the vegetables and fruits trade. Further details : www.efarm.in. It presently sources from 2500 farmers across Tamilnadu , and delivers to some of the leading hotel, catering and food retail chains in Chennai, 24x7x365 days.
eFarm has also launched a online platform ‘eFarmDirect’ , extending their reach now to national level, connecting all stakeholders in the system across India . The portal , which was inaugurated last month has been a big hit in all the Krishi Mela’s (Farmer’s exhibitions) across the states of Karnataka, Maharastra and Gujarath , with over lakhs of farmers reached in just 1 month. Further details : www.efarmdirect.com
eFarm has won numerous awards, significant being the ‘Proto.in most promising startup of the Year 2011’ and ‘Intel UC Berkely next Big idea 2010 Finalist’ eFarm has the distinction of one of the first agri start-ups in India to get angel funding from private investors (The Mumbai Angels).eFarm has been featured in several main stream media such as The Hindu, Times Of India, Mint, Indian express, Economic Times, NDTV and also a part of a worldwide documentary by leading European TV channel on food supply chain crisis.
Venkat is married to Srivalli, who also quit her career as a banker to join him at eFarm as co-founder . Srivalli has done her MBA in Finance from ICFAI and B.Com in Taxation . She has worked in various leading banking and Insurance firms in sales and marketing positions. Venkat and Valli are visiting faculty and speakers in various leading Institutions and has given talks on topics ranging from entrepreneurship , supply chain management , agri marketing and ICT for rural India. He is also a writer and columnist in magazines , and runs one of the most popular AgriBlogs in LinkedIn called ‘AgriIndia’.
They are based in Chennai, but they have both now adapted to a gypsy lifestyle, where their work now takes them to remote corners of India’s rural landscapes, toting just a backpack and a netbook !
