Stellapps Technologies, under the leadership of CEO and Co-founder Ranjith Mukundan, has achieved a remarkable milestone by receiving the prestigious Digital Transformation award at the BusinessLine Changemaker Awards, 2023.. This accolade celebrates the company’s groundbreaking contributions to the dairy sector, revolutionizing how farmers manage their herds and navigate the milk supply chain.
Stellapps, a burgeoning start-up, has emerged as a game-changer in the dairy industry, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to digitize various aspects of dairy farming and milk production. The company’s impactful solutions have reached over 3.5 million farmers across 44,000 villages in 17 Indian states, significantly enhancing cattle productivity and quality of milk.
At the heart of Stellapps’ success is its comprehensive suite of applications and services, tailored to empower farmers with actionable insights and efficient farm management tools. These include farm-operations applications for herd management, supply-chain services offering quality agro-inputs, grading and pricing applications for fair milk payment, and innovative online transaction services.
One of the most notable aspects of Stellapps’ approach is its fintech solution, mooPay™. This platform extends financial inclusion to smallholder farmers, many of whom are first-time users of formal financial services. Coupled with mooScore™, an alternative credit scoring system, Stellapps has pioneered a new avenue for farmers to access tailored credit products, transforming their economic landscape.
The company’s journey began with a vision to build a broader ecosystem of services, initially through a simple SaaS/licensing model. However, recognizing the need for a more hands-on approach, Stellapps pivoted to establish its own vertically integrated supply chain. This bold move enabled the company to identify and develop value-added services that directly benefit farmers.
Addressing the lack of a modern supply chain, Stellapps created its infrastructure, facilitating access to resources through hyper-local stores in village centers. Additionally, the company introduced a digital hub app, providing farmers with a suite of resources, including a milk passbook, educational materials, and a retail storefront for agricultural necessities.
The results of Stellapps’ endeavors are evident in its impressive traction. The fintech apps now serve nearly 70,000 farmers across 1,600 villages, disbursing loans worth half-a-million dollars monthly. With a procurement capacity of 350K liters of milk per day and collaborations with major dairy and consumer goods brands, Stellapps has significantly scaled its operations.
In 2022, Stellapps’ annual revenue run rate soared to nearly $70M, attracting substantial investments from major VCs, Qualcomm, the Gates Foundation, and the Netherlands sovereign fund IDH. These investments, a first in equity for the latter two in India, underscore the company’s impactful approach in a sector traditionally viewed as capital-intensive.
As Stellapps continues its path of innovation, its story is not just one of technological advancement but also of empowering communities, particularly farmers and women, who are essential to the agricultural fabric. Stellapps stands as a beacon of how digital technology can bring about positive change, enhancing lives and transforming industries.
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