SOCIAL VENTURES
WORDS MATTHEW GOODING
Farming is at the start of its digital journey, and Cambridge start-up KisanHub is using data to help growers and food producers make better decisions. Co-founder and CEO Sachin Shende explains how his firm is improving supply chains one potato at a time
In partnership with
at ground level. I’m not a hands-on farmer myself, but I have observed it very closely.” Shende and KisanHub now help farmers like his father – as well as their large, multi-national buyers – to manage the food supply chain. “Behind all the global food and drink brands there are farmers growing crops,” Shende explains. “For a beer it might be barley; potatoes for crisps; oats for cereals and so on. KisanHub is connecting these companies directly with farmers, gathering all of the data to manage the supply chain, offering 100% traceability and visibility so businesses know if they have enough supplies to run their factories. “The other aspect is to help farmers grow sustainably, which is really important because the footprint of some of the companies we work with is massive – for example, AB InBev (the brewer behind Budweiser) works with about 50,000 farmers globally, and Nestlé procures from 700,000 farmers.
isanHub CEO Sachin Shende spends his days tackling the big problems around the supply
of fresh produce, but still has a vivid recollection of what life was like when he was at the start of the food chain. “My personal story is in farming, software and finance,” he says. “I grew up on a farm in India. My father was a sugar cane farmer because, post Indian independence, there was a big co- operative movement that started a lot of sugar factories, which meant farmers had to grow the sugar cane needed to supply them. “He was also an agronomist who advised other farmers on things like seeds and fertilisers. We helped on the farm as children and I still have those memories of seeing how things worked
IMAGES KisanHub started with a bright idea at business school, and now employs 40 people at Allia Future Business Centre, Cambridge, and in Pune, India
ISSUE 03 40
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