The Startup Journey

The Outlook Business dated 20th July '07 features(not available online)Vinod Kapur, the Chairman of the KeggFarms group. The company has bred a poultry variety, the Kuroiler, that is at par with modern industrial hens in terms of growth and egg laying, but as hardy as the desi chicken and survives on scavenging. It is remarkable to note how it helped tap in on the bottom of the pyramid opportunity, besides providing rural households an income generation opportunity. More than the fawning and backslapping, it was the sudden turn in perceptions that surprised Kapur. His bankers, who derided him, now bend over backwards to lend. The quaint company that talked about empowering rural women is now a star bank account and some even want to feature him in their annual reports. KeggFarms ' base of the economic pyramid (BOP) business model, that helps pull households out of the spiral of poverty, by supplementing their income from village poultry, took years of tweaking. It has now come...