In 2018, Varun Raheja founded Raheja Solar Food Processing Pvt. Ltd. in Indore, Madhya Pradesh with the aim of helping Indian farmers increase the shelf life of their produce, thereby allowing them to derive greater value from it. Raheja Solar provides farmers with an affordable and foldable solar dryer that can be installed even in the remotest of farms. The dryers dehydrate produce in a way that preserves its color, taste, fragrance, and nutrients.
A 26-year-old social entrepreneur and engineer, Varun handles Business Development for Raheja Solar. He is a mechanical engineer with 3 years of research and start-ups on increasing the income of farmers. Parmeet Singh, the Operations Head hails from a small town in Madhya Pradesh and is the son of a farmer. He was motivated to join Varun in his venture because he wanted to work at the grassroots level to help farmers become more independent, thus creating a better India.
We engaged in a conversation with Varun and Parmeet to better understand their journey to social entrepreneurship and how they are improving the lives of Indian farmers. Read the Q&A below to learn more!
Q. What motivated you to start this business?
Varun: I love nature! I find its function extremely magical—how it works and creates edible fruits and vegetables from just thin air and water. In my engineering years, I witnessed the struggles of the farmers who created these beautiful natural gifts only to have them go to waste, without even receiving their true value. That’s when I realized the importance of value addition (upscaling). Through extensive research, I also learned about its impact on the environment, and on the lives of the farmers, and decided to do something about it.
Q. What did you do before you became an entrepreneur?
Varun: Well, I started this business in 2018 while I was still in college so I haven’t worked anywhere else before. I had started researching intervention start-ups that dealt with farmers’ suicide, farming waste management, and the likes.
But while interning for Dr. Janak Palta McGilligan, a Padma Shri in sustainable development, I discovered solar drying. Her late husband had developed a dryer then for their NGO operations, but I saw a huge potential for a solar dryer in my research on increasing the income of farmers. After a year of additional research on this particular product, I finally started this business.
Q. How do you deal with the challenges that come with such a unique business model?
Varun: There are three key factors that have aided me in my journey—passion, perseverance, and patience.
I was fortunate enough to discover my passion for nature and waste management very early on in life. But in the early stages of my business, I had to single-handedly perform the tasks of 25 people, such as making dryers, welding, cutting, packing, selling, and accounting, amongst others. It was tiring! However, I had immense support coming from my mentor and the community around me. Their assistance motivated me to keep persevering through these challenges. Even when I struggled financially in the first three years of starting my business, I learnt to have patience and keep going.
Q. Why did you decide to formulate a business model with such a strong emphasis on social impact?
Varun: I am pleased to answer this question. I was 19 when I started working with my mentor who was 70. Despite my efforts, she would never be satisfied with my work. She would say that I am not perfect. I would then tell her that she was perfect because she had 50 years of experience while I wasn’t even an adult yet. However, her criticism pushed me to strive for excellence.
When you start an enterprise, it is easy to lose focus and become motivated by money rather than impact. My mentor would ask me a simple question, "Do you want to be great or do you want to be big?" This question helped me focus and create a business model that would support farmers.
Q. What is your vision for your company?
Varun: Due to fear of exploitation, small farmers are not interested in business support and have very modest requirements. By just increasing their income, we can transform their lives.
Currently, in our business model, we focus on reducing waste. Based on our estimates, we have saved up to 30% of the produce which would usually get wasted. But our ambition is to even reduce carbon loss, decrease the depletion of natural resources, and provide farmers with an extra 40-50% income by preventing them from throwing away their products and processing them for higher margins. By reducing post-harvest losses and food loss, we can transform their lives and provide them with better opportunities.
Q. What has been your biggest personal takeaway so far?
Parmeet: It is hard to get recognized for the work that you do sometimes, but thanks to the impact that our team has created, it has given us an identity and respect in the community. When we now visit places, people recognize us as representatives of Raheja Solar and appreciate the work we do for farmers through our product. It's not through paid advertising but because of the actual impact on ground. That's the biggest takeaway for me.
Q. What is a piece of advice you’d like to give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?
Varun: In any journey, it's crucial to find like-minded individuals who are passionate about the same cause. The challenges are enormous and it's difficult to tackle them alone. But identifying people who share your passion makes the process easier. Seek help everywhere, as it's not a one-person job!
During our initial three years, we faced many difficulties. However, after collaborating with incubators, accelerators, and social organizations who had been working on similar projects for decades, we found the support and solutions we needed to deal with our challenges. It's crucial to connect with people who would understand your problems and have solutions for you to overcome them.
Parmeet: If you're planning to start your business, spend a significant amount of time on the ground, interacting with the people who will benefit from it. This will give you a clear understanding of their reality. For example, if you want to help farmers, you should live with them and adopt their routine to understand their problems. Simply staying for a few days and making a report is not enough. It is important to attend their work and even experience their culture. Only after you are confident that your idea can help them, start implementing your project. On-ground experience is crucial to know their issues and how you can solve them.
Upaya’s Dignified Jobs Accelerator, in partnership with Yunus Social Business, focuses on building investment-readiness capacity for early-stage social businesses that create livelihood opportunities in an inclusive and equitable manner for those in extreme poverty. You can learn more about the accelerator here!
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