Green Grameen Infra Provides a Lifeline for Rural India

According to the 2011 census, 70% of India still cooks on firewood, animal dung & crop residues and globally, about 3 billion people cook on traditional stoves (chulhas)/indoor open fires. There are a lot of problems that arise right from the use of toxic material and high exposure to dangerous gases to deforestation and climate change.

“Greenway Grameen Infra aims to combine Design Needs and Efficient Distribution for Rural Markets delivering ‘high immediate impact’ energy products,” says Neha Juneja, the CEO and co-founder.

Smart Stove and its features

The company has come up with its first product, Greenway Smart Stove that has the following advantages over its traditional counterparts:

With 85% less smoke, this patent pending design innovation that uses no moving parts and few materials to deliver fuel savings up to 65%, minimizes harmful emissions of CO, CO2 and Particulate Matter and delivers convenient cooking without any requirement of fuel processing or change in cooking habits thus solving the health, environment and fuel collection effort required for operating traditional stoves.

Greenway Smart Stove is ideally suited for cow dung, agro-waste, wood, charcoal and can be used for all kinds of cooking including baking and frying - such as roti, bhakri etc. It has been tested and certified for its performance by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India.

The stove supports both large and small vessels and offers loading capacity and stability for loads upto 25 kgs. Its ergonomically assessed height and handles ensure comfort during cooking and offer easy portability.

Product strategy, Marketing and Sales

The sales and distribution of the product initially starts out at the production warehouse, from where it is supplied to distributors and in turn retailers and then consumers. For instance, a distributor could cover a region say, as large as Udupi and Mangalore, (combined pop. of 32 lakh) through 72 retail points.

The stove is being used in 12 districts in Karnataka currently, and the company’s growth strategy for FY 2013 seeks to establish distribution in 60 districts at an average of 5-6 districts per month. "Also, since the stove is easily portable, you could get it couriered right to your doorstep anywhere in India," adds Neha. Later on, the product would seek a global stage.

The stove is priced at 1250 INR.

“A couple of innovative products coming up include ‘Jugnu’ – heat to electricity converter and ‘Greenway Turbo Stove’,”adds Neha.

The Team

Along with Neha, Ankit Agarwal, an MBA grad from IIM-A is the co-founder and COO. Sacchit Naik, Shoeb and Umang are the Vice Presidents for Retail, Product Development and Alliances respectively, whereas TS Ramadas is the marketing manager for Karnataka.

With exciting products coming up from the house of GGI, it seems as though ventures like this will pave the way for social entrepreneurship in a big way. Check out their products at the Green Grameen Infra site here.