SMV Green
Industry: Others
Headquarters: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Website: www.smvgreen.com
Cohort: 2017
Partner Since: April 2018
Jobs Created: 2,654
SMV Green Solutions is a social venture that aims to bring dignity to rickshaw drivers through asset ownership and other value-added services.
The Varanasi-based company, founded by Naveen Krishna, finances battery-powered rickshaws so that drivers are able to upgrade from either gas-powered or manual rickshaws to ones that are better for their own health and the environment. SMV Green provides financing for 24 months, after which the driver owns the vehicle and is better equipped to earn their way out of poverty.
The company builds on the work of an earlier company founded by Krishna, SMV Wheels, which first addressed the physical drudgery of manual rickshaws with a lease-to-own model for auto-rickshaws. That company financed over 5,000 rickshaws.
The social venture also provides insurance for life, disability, accident and rickshaw theft, and it also assists them with procuring the appropriate government licenses.
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About the Entrepreneur
Sanju's life was transformed when she got her first job as a rickshaw driver through SMV Green. Prior to starting this job, Sanju was afraid to leave her home. She feared for her family's future and she couldn't afford her daughter's education.