1. About Samridhi
Samridhi is a registered for-profit company and is an associate company of Sanchetna Financial Services
(Sanchetna), a microfinance institution working in the rural areas across five districts surrounding the
city of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, India. Samridhi’s objective is to promote sustainable employment
opportunities for the rural and semi-urban poor, primarily by filling the gaps of local value chains in a
way that unlocks greater potential for community-based economic activities. Employment platforms
include dairy farming and vegetable vending; Samridhi plans to pilot test and launch the dairy initiative
in late summer 2011, with the vegetable vending platform to follow in early 2012. Samridhi is also
seeking to set up Farmer Facilitation Centers for better availability of farm inputs for the marginal
farmers. This profile describes the dairy initiative in greater detail.
Executive Summary
For a long time, it was regarded that rural development is the primary pre condition for growth of a
developing country. This understanding is going through a change, with rapid urbanization becoming the
trend of the day. However, this has had adverse implications for the agricultural sector. With the fast
diminishing land holdings, the predominantly agricultural dependant population is struggling to meet
their ends. Agriculture has been losing its capacity to engage a large workforce. In such a scenario, any
livelihood solution to the rural population should be one which is labor intensive and has a capacity to
absorb people who are otherwise unemployed or underemployed.
While looking to make an intervention in the field of livelihood solutions, the promoters of Sanchetna
researched about the Dairy sector. Dairy sector is the single largest contributor of agricultural sector to
India’s Gross Domestic Product, with its annual value exceeding Rs. 11790 crores in the year 20041. India
has emerged as the largest milk producer in the world with about 108 Mn Ton milk production in the
years 20062.
Despite this, Indian agriculture is essentially a ‘crop-livestock production system’, where crop residues
are fed to the milch animals. Besides this, dairy farmers utilise family labour available in their own
household for milk production activities. This very passive nature of livestock-rearing helps Indian
dairying industry retain its cost-competitiveness vis-à-vis many other leading countries like New Zealand
or Australia. However, this also gives way to low milk productivity of milch cattle & low quality of milk
with regards to the internationally accepted standards. E.g. Productivity of cattle in India is 987
Kg/lactation whereas global average is 2084 Kgs/lactation3. Other factors for lower productivity can be
1
Smallholder dairy development - Lessons learned in Asia... From FAO Directory
2
Animal Husbandry Department, Government of India
3
Smallholder dairy development - Lessons learned in Asia...From FAO Directory

2. summarized as poorer quality of cattle and also lack of extension services in the field of animal health
and up-keep. At the same time, meaningful intervention in this field can take care of providing livelihood
solutions to about 75% of rural households who own two or more cattle4.
Genesis of Samridhi
In order to offer financial services to a vast section of society, predominantly rural, which is outside the
ambit of organized players, a group of like-minded young professionals having had exposure to different
sectors started a company in the name of Sanchetna Financial Services Pvt Ltd in mid-2008. After
working closely with rural populace for about a year, the promoters realized that financial services alone
will not make sufficient & long-lasting impact on the livelihoods of these people unless these are
clubbed with other business support services.
Thus, to support various elements of the eco-system around a host of livelihood activities being
practiced in the rural areas, the promoters set up Samridhi Agri Products Pvt Ltd. Equipped with the
valuable insights gained from the close relationship of the former company with rural people, and given
the past work experience of some of the promoters, Dairying was chosen as the activity where Samridhi
sought to make interventions. While considering dairying as an industry, several support services are
assumed to go hand in hand, like availability of high-yielding varieties of milch cattle, provision of
nutritional cattle feed, institutionalization of milk procurement from villages, timely payment to milk-
pourers, artificial insemination, veterinary services, cattle insurance, milk processing, packaging and
marketing.
Promoting dairying not only touches the economic aspects of the lives of rural populace, but also
promotes gender and social equity: 58% of the total workers engaged in the dairying sub-sector are
women. The participation of women in other activities, including agriculture, is low compared to that in
animal husbandry, particularly dairying. Further, the majority of dairy workers belong to socially and
economically disadvantaged communities: Scheduled Tribes (STs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Other
Backward Castes (OBCs) together constitute about 69% of the persons employed in dairy sector.
Target Geography
Samridhi had first piloted the dairy model in Deva block of Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh. The team
is currently piloting the new model in the same block and would later expand to other blocks.
Barabanki district is marked as ‘A’ category district that is the socio economic parameters are below the
parameters set on national average grounds. Deva Block is a rural block, where agriculture, animal
husbandry, and bee keeping are the main economic practice. The main crops grown are wheat, paddy
and maize. Menthol oil is a vastly grown cash crop in the region. The average income for a farmer or a
dairy producer is very low and there are many villages with a large number of people below poverty line.
4
Smallholder dairy development - Lessons learned in Asia...From FAO Directory

3. About the Region – Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh, located in north India, is the most populous state in the country accounting for 16.4% of
the country’s population, and is also the world’s most populous sub-national entity5. Lucknow is the
capital city of Uttar Pradesh. The per capita income of the state is among the lowest in India. Uttar
Pradesh, along with Bihar and Orissa, lags behind in social indicators such as medical facilities, birth rate,
death rate, infant mortality rate, literacy, unemployment, etc.6
Majority of the population is dependent on farming as its main occupation. Poverty estimates provided
by the Planning Commission reveal that Uttar Pradesh has 59 million people who are below poverty line.
Government schemes and market reforms have failed to percolate down to the rural economy in UP. As
per the multi-dimensional poverty index (MPI)7, Uttar Pradesh has over 134 million people (21% of
5
http://www.tourismofindia.info/uttar-pradesh-tourism/
6
Website of the Govt. Of UP - http://upgov.nic.in/upinfo/up_eco.html
7
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), an Oxford poverty and human development initiative, complements
income poverty measures by reflecting the deprivations that a poor person faces all at once with respect to
education, health and living standard

4. India’s poor) who are multi-dimensionally poor. Even microfinance, which has penetrated large parts of
India, has frustratingly low penetration in Uttar Pradesh. Total outreach of microfinance in the state is
around 1.2 million8 (compared to the total covered, 23 million, in India).
Current Operations
Having started its operations towards the end of 2009, Samridhi started with milk procurement from
April’10. Samridhi currently procures about 1000 LPD from 13 villages. Milk procurement is faced with
the factor of seasonality, which is much more prominent in case of buffaloes. Therefore Samridhi has
made special efforts to procure cow milk even by putting a differential pricing strategy that gives weight
to SNF (as compared to fat) which makes it more equitable for cow milk.
Samridhi has set-up one model unit which comprises 10 - 12 villages having a capacity to pour about
2000 LPD. Each of these units is given one Bulk Milk Cooler (BMC) and is manned by one BMC In-Charge
and three-four employees who will look after milk collection from villages.
As on date, Samridhi serves 150 farmers across 10 villages and buys milk from them at better than
market rates. Regular milk sales allow these people to move from subsistence to earning a market-based
income. Typically, these women already own 1-3 cows and sell milk to a middleman every day. However,
they are constantly subjected to delayed and below-the-market payments for their produce. Through
the dairy initiative, Samridhi works with these women and gives them accurate and timely payments.
Samridhi’s rates are higher than that given by the middlemen or even the state dairy cooperative.
Samridhi serves the population that did not have any control over the pricing or payments of their
commodity and consequently was getting disillusioned from dairy as a business. However, the team felt
that this model was not impacting the lives of the ultra poor or the poorest of the poor.
Samridhi thus developed a new model to effectively serve multiple layers of the poor.
The New Model
Samridhi works with two different client segments in the dairy initiative:
1. Ultra Poor (“UP”) Households (under $1.25 / day)
8
Microfinance map of India – source: Sa-dhan

5. These are small, rural farmers who are among the poorest groups in India and have little to no assets. At
present, they cobble together odd jobs, such as manual labour or field work, to earn an income. They
seek steady income to stabilize their lives and address their basic necessities. Samridhi will develop
robust selection criteria to ensure that only ultra poor women are given access to stable employment as
they do not have any other sources of employment.
The basic premise of the model is to make UP families part of the milk production cycle and to make use
of the reproductive assets to reproduce as many similar nature assets as possible. This will allow
Samridhi to reach out to as many such families as possible. This will in turn make sure that Samridhi has
a large number of milk producers having their own productive assets. While the cattle is owned by the
organization, the client gets a fixed payment and portion of milk as remuneration for the same. The
subsequent offspring of the cattle is owned by the client.
Under this model, Samridhi provides each of their clients with one or more cows with total productivity
of 8 Litres per day or three to five goats with total productive capacity of 5-6 Litres for milk production.
In case of cow, the client rears the cow on her own and meets all related expenses. As long as she
provides milk worth Rs. 16,580 every year, she gets a fixed wage of Rs. 650 per month. Any milk above
this minimum requirement belongs to the client and she can decide whom to sell this milk to and at
what price. Taking a particular example of 8 Liters milk being available the client can end up making Rs.
650 as fixed wage and Rs. 1700 by selling the milk to Samridhi collection center. Another benefit for the
clients will be from the offspring of the cow which will be their asset; Samridhi will not have any
ownership over them. This way the family could end up owning about four cows within a span of 10
years.
When the cattle is dry and does not provide any milk, Samridhi still pays them Rs. 650 every month.
After the cow gives birth, the client gets to own the calf. Until the she-calf starts giving milk, the original
cattle will remain with the client, and thereafter be taken back by the company and allotted to another
client.
The table below shows one year timeline of milk generation from a 2 year old cow.
Assumptions
1. Total production starts from 8 Litres per day, and goes on decreasing with time.
2. The figures taken here are an average over a year. However, as cow productivity declines,
Samridhi’s share also declines with it.
3. A cow is assumed to be in lactation for nine months in a year. For the three months over the dry
period, Samidhi still pays an amount of Rs.650 per month to each client.
4. The table given here assumes the worst case scenario with respect to offsprings. In the first
year, we assume a male calf, and in the second year a female calf that will hold a value only in
the third year.

6. Value of Total Cattle Total
total Samirdhi's Client's Samridhi's Samridhi Fixed to client
Month production share share Margin Benefit wages client benefit
Year 1 32025 16585 15440 4575 21160 7800 1000 24240
Year 2 32025 16585 15440 4575 21160 7800 0 23240
Year 3 32025 16585 15440 4575 21160 7800 11000 34240
Apart from cow, Samridhi also provides goats to some of the clients. As a livelihood option the
reproduction cycle of goats is shorter at 5 months. Moreover, goats generally give birth to twins and the
price of male kid is the same as that of a female kid. However, due to the social stigma attached to
rearing goats, not many clients are willing to rear goats as livelihoods.
As goats are rarely reared for milk, Samridhi has entered into an agreement with The Goat Trust
foundation to source goats. The Trust will also train para-vets in the project area who will take care of
the preliminary ailments to the goats in the villages. As these people will not be on the pay-rolls of
Samridhi, they will provide their services to other cattle owners in the village as well.
Under this programme, Samridhi provides three to five goats with a total productivity of 5 Litres to each
client. In the first batch, Samridhi is procuring goats of Sirohi breed through The Goat Trust, but going
forward, local breeds will be procured as well. Given that a goat reproduces twice in a year, Samridhi
lets the original goat be with the client and takes two female goats that it produces over a span of three
years. In case the goat produces a male goat, it is kept by the client, who may also sell the same to
Samridhi under buy-back guarantee scheme @165/Kg body weight.
For Goats, the timeline of productivity is given below.
Assumptions
1. Average total production stands at 5 Litres per day.
2. A goat is assumed to be in lactation for eight months in a year. For the four months over the dry
period, Samidhi still pays an amount of Rs.600 per month to each client.
3. The table given here assumes the worst case scenario with respect to offsprings. For each goat,
in each year, we assume two male kids and one female kid. Out of these, Samridhi takes back
one female kid in the first year, and one in the third year.
Value of Cattle Total Total
total Samirdhi's Client's Samridhi's Fixed to Cattle to Samridhi client
Month production share share Margin wages client Samridhi Benefit benefit
Year 1 25620 17934 7686 3660 12000 15000 7500 29094 34686
Year 2 25620 17934 7686 3660 12000 22500 0 21594 42186
Year 3 25620 17934 7686 3660 12000 15000 7500 29094 34686

7. Client Advantage-
The main advantage to the client is that within 2 years time, the client actually gets to own milk giving
cattle that will be completely out of Samridhi’s dominion. The average cost of rearing the cattle should
average out to be around Rs.500 per month. For this, they get a fixed payment of Rs.650, and market
rate for the milk produced over and above the agreed upon limit.
Below is a graphical representation of the value chain:
5. Samridhi 1. Samridhi
collects milk selects the
and makes clients based
payment to on Poverty
the client Indicators
4. Women 2. Client
clients rear selects the
the cattle cattle
3. Samridhi
procures the
cattle and
hands it over
to the client
Once the cattle has been handed over to the client, she immediately becomes solely responsible for the
rearing of the cattle. Everything from feeding the cattle to attending to its illnesses is taken care of by
the client. The cattle is as good as the client’s own asset. The client has to ensure that the animal
remains healthy and physically stable. At the time of returning the animal, Samridhi expects it to be in
the same condition as it were at the time of assigning to the client.
Samridhi’s role, however, does not end once the cattle is assigned and handed over.
The grid below explains the division of responsibilities between different players:
Activity Samridhi Client
Client receives cattle from
Cattle Purchase Samridhi purchases and gives it to the client Samridhi
Cattle Maintenance No involvement Maintains on her own

8. Milk Selling Collects milk from the clients and sells it ahead Gives milk to Samridhi
Risk Mitigation Cattle insurance in Samridhi's name No involvement
Keeps the original animal after calf starts giving
Calving milk Owns the calf
Veterinary Services Makes services available to the client Pays for services
Since rearing of the cow/goat is a low skilled job and requires only 1/2-1 hour of work in a day, the
income is more lucrative than other livelihood options. More importantly, it supplements the income
generated by the male member of the family and helps them move out of extreme poverty.
To measure the income levels and change in quality of life brought by this programme, Samridhi
conducts surveys to calculate certain indices:
• For potential clients, the company first conducts a survey in the targeted villages, where we
calculate the Progress Out of Poverty Index, which takes into account the incomes, expenditure,
the housing index, the education levels etc. This is our primary measure of the impact that our
services will generate.
• The clients reside in ‘kachha’ houses made of mud or thatches, and on an average have 4-6
children who are not going to school, and working as farm labour instead. Their average
monthly income is Rs.1500 to 2000.
• Ideally, the PPI score for our clients is less than 18. This indicates that the households are ultra
poor with minimal assets, and large families to support.
• The combined household and asset index comes to below 10. This implies that the clients reside
in ‘kachha’ houses, seldom have access to private source of water, and have no toilet and
sanitary facilities at all.
2. Poor Households (earning between $2 - $3 / day)
More than 40% of Indian farming households, roughly two thirds of which own less than 1 hectare of
land, are engaged in milk production as they can engage in this activity with relative ease to improve
their livelihoods basket. Regular milk sales allow them to move from subsistence to earning a market-
based income. Typically, these women already own 1-3 cows and sell milk to a middleman every day. As
described above, however, they are constantly subject to delayed and below-the-market payments for
their work.
Through the dairy initiative, Samridhi works with these women and gives them accurate and timely
payments. Samridhi’s rates are higher than that given by the middlemen or state dairy cooperative.
Another benefit of working with Samridhi is that the women are paid predictable amounts on a weekly
basis, which directly alleviates the current problem of erratic and/or substandard payments.
Apart from cattle, Samridhi also provides extension services to these women. Keeping that in mind,
Samridhi has also tied up with organizations which have expertise in providing veterinary services such

9. as artificial insemination, vaccination and de worming of cattle. Samridhi will also provide quality cattle
de-worming
feed with an objective of maintaining the yield of the cattle. With the objective of reaching as many
ultra poor households as possible, the original asset will be transferred to another family as soon as it
bears a subsequent productive asset.
Samridhi benefits two distinct client groups, one as employees and one as su
suppliers:
While the financial returns are important to ensure scalability, Samridhi has a strong focus on the social
objectives and tracks the social metrics
1. Economic Objective: To provide members/ clients with a source of income by facilitating better
services at lower prices. Besides giving them a direct source of income, Samridhi also aims to
rvices
impart the necessary skills to increase their production, by using resources in the most efficient
manner.
2. Social Objective- To empower the impoverished sector, not only economically, but by giving
not
them a sense of independence and knowledge, that will facilitate community participation and
decision making. This holds especially true in the case of gender roles, since this additional
income is directed towards the women of the household. The cattle are issued in the name of
women
the woman heading the household. Thus, in a way, we are creating employment opportunities
for women in villages who otherwise do not have a fixed means of earning. This bears an
important social role in villages. Creating income for them leads to a feeling of empowerment
among women and gives them discretion in decision making.
Support Services-

10. As mentioned above it is essential to provide supporting environment to the activity of cattle reari as
rearing
a livelihood option. Following is the bucket of facilities that Samridhi will be providing as a part of
implementation of the project.
1. Cattle Insurance- The cattle will be insured before being handed out to the client. For this
purpose, Samridhi has tied collaboration with TATA AIG, which will be providing cattle insurance
to us. In case of animal death, the client does not bear any additional expenses. The client will
not be held responsible, and the claim for the cattle will be given to the company.
company.
2. Network of Para-vets- For regular check up on the animal, we will train a woman from each
village to provide basic veterinary services in that particular village. Thus we create the concept
of ‘Pashu Sakhi’. The Pashu Sakhi will be trained free of cost, and be provided with basic
cost,
medicines to heal basic ailments. She can charge a fixed percentage on these medicines while
selling them to the clients when they approach her. Thus, it provides a channel of income for the
Pashu Sakhi.
3. Cattle Feed- Samridhi also provides cattle feed to its clients at less than market price. The cattle
feed is delivered at their doorstep. Thus they save money on the cost of the item, as well as
travel and time costs.
4. De Worming Tablets and Vaccination As a subsidiary service to clients from whom we collect
Vaccination-
milk, we provide de worming tablets. The client does not need to pay for these. They are told
about the importance of these tablets, and how they are supposed to be consumed by the
cattle.
5. Artificial Insemination- Samridhi will assist the clients for practices like AI. Although the
expenses will be borne by the client, the provision of the vet and other facilities will be
provided, so that the client does not have to spend more time and cost on searching for these
facilities. A safe and healthy practice of AI is assured by Samridhi, and the calves thus generated
.
will be an asset of the client.
Key Competition
Competitive Advantage

11. The procurement volume in the region has a seasonal pattern with many small dairies operating only
during the flush season. Since none of these dairies have so far focussed on either giving good rates to
the farmers or provided any extension services to improve the cattle productivity, this trend is likely to
continue in the years to come.
The long marriage season during the lean season also ensures that the most of the milk is purchased by
the dudhias at very attractive prices. The state dairy cooperative (Parag) is the only player in the market
with a reasonable presence in areas surrounding Lucknow. The drawback with the state cooperative is
that it mostly covers villages which are situated on the main roads, which leaves out a large chunk of the
villages where organized players such as Samridhi plan to reach.
Having a symbiotic relationship with Sanchetna, which is already providing the farmers with capital and
insurance services, Samridhi provides the services of veterinary doctors to the farmers. The company is
in the process of setting up a system wherein the farmers will be provided with cattle feeds at
affordable rates.
The promoters put a lot of emphasis on direct & regular touch with the milk producers, economic
empowerment of milk producers, transparency, customer service & professionalism. These all will help
us gain an edge over the competition.
The following is a snapshot of the Samridhi’s positioning vis-a-vis other market players:
State Milk Co- Private Players Milk Men Samridhi
Operative (Dudhias)
Outreach Villages on the Towns Interior Villages Interior Villages
connecting roads
Milk Rate Basis FAT and CLR FAT Only (Favours No Scientific Basis FAT and CLR
Buffalo Milk) (about Rs. 1/Ltr
more than that of
Co-op)
Payment Monthly Basis Monthly Basis Erratic Weekly
Point of Contact Co-ordinator Milk Middleman Farmer Farmer
Financial Not Available Not Available Available Available
Assistance
Cattle Insurance Not Available Not Available Not Available Available
Veterinary Available but Not Available Not Available Available
Services erratic
Financial Analysis

12. The business model of Samridhi is based on the margin between procurement price of milk from the
rural areas and selling price to the milk company.
While coming to procuring milk from the villagers there will be two different set of producers
1. Population already having one or more milch animal
2. Population living below poverty line not having cattle who will be provided with cattle to be
reared for a period of three years over that period the milk will be shared between Samridhi and
years
the member whereas the offspring of the cattle will be owned by the member whereas the
original asset will belong to Samridhi. During this period the member will be paid Rs. 500/month
(hiked by inflation YOY) as fixed wages.
Other assumptions are as follows
1. Price of milk will be determined on the basis of FAT and SNF
2. Margin between procurement and selling price is Rs. 3/Liter
3. Fixed cost of maintaining Bulk Milk Cooler for one month including salaries, transportation and
utilities is INR 70,000
4. In case of Samridhi’s cattle being reared by members 2.82 LPD/Member will be poured to
Samridhi for which there will be no other payment other than fixed wages to the clients
Milk collection
Milk is Milk stored
Milk collection van transports
Field Staff collected, and chilled in
van transports all the milk to
reaches Village sample is the BMC
the collected our partner
Collection tested for Fat before being
milk to BMC at Dairy where it
Center and CNR transported to
Saddipur is processed
content Dairy
and packaged
Income Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Milk Sold - Samridhi Portion 5956800 5956800 5956800 5956800 5956800
Milk Sold - Client Portion 2803200 8935200 27331200 50983200 78139200
Grant Income 500000 0 0 0 0
Total Income 9260000 14892000 33288000 56940000 84096000

13. Expenses
Milk Bought 2394400 7632150 23345400 43548150 66743900
Salaries 834000 834000 834000 834000 834000
Admin Expenses 252000 252000 252000 252000 252000
Training Expenses 300000 80000 0 120000 0
Interest Expenses 900000 72000 54000 36000 180000
Depreciation 30000 30000 30000 30000 30000
Total Expenses 4710400 8900150 24515400 44820150 68039900
PBT 4549600 5991850 8772600 12119850 16056100
Income Tax 1501368 1977311 2894958 3999551 5298513
PAT 3048232 4014540 5877642 8120300 10757587
Assets Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Cash and Equivalents 2078232 5972772 11730413 19730710 30368294
Livestock 7200000 7200000 7200000 7200000 7200000
BMC 270000 240000 210000 180000 150000
Total Assets 9548232 13412772 19140413 27110710 37718294
Liabilities
Equity 9548232 13412772 19140413 27110710 37718294
Total Liabilities 9548232 13412772 19140413 27110710 37718294
Cash Flow
Inflow Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Opening Balance 0 2078232 5972772 11730413 19730710
Capital Infusion 80,00,000 0 0 0 0
Milk Sold 9260000 14892000 33288000 56940000 84096000
Total Inflow 17260000 16970232 39260772 68670413 103826710
Cash Outflow
Milk Bought 2394400 7632150 23345400 43548150 66743900
Salaries 834000 834000 834000 834000 834000
Training Expenses 300000 80000 0 120000 0
Rent and other utilities 252000 252000 252000 252000 252000
Livestock 7200000 0 0 0 0
BMC 300000 0 0 0 0
Interest Expenses 900000 72000 54000 36000 180000
Loan Repayment 1500000 150000 150001 150002 150003
Income Tax 1501368 1977311 2894958 3999551 5298513
Total Outflow 15181768 10997461 27530359 48939703 73458416
Closing Balance 2078232 5972772 11730413 19730710 30368294

14. Capital Requirement
As captured in the financial statements above total capital requirement is INR 80,00,000 in order to
reach about 400 clients in 20 villages. We shall be able to scale up it even further subject to access to
further capital.
Risk Mitigation:
Currently, Insurance Companies do not have an extensive network in the rural hinterlands. These often
rely on NGOs, insurance agents etc. to meet their regulatory requirement of rural portfolio. Lack of
awareness among the rural people makes it difficult for them to benefit from insurance products. While
it is our endeavour to enable milk producers to maximise profits from cattle rearing, it might backfire
and push them back to below-poverty levels, if their cattle are not properly insured. Thus, like any other
business, risk mitigation has to be provided. Currently, Samridhi is providing cattle insurance by offering
through TATA-AIG, a general insurance company. The non-members of Samridhi are also offered this
service, albeit at a slightly higher price. Moreover, veterinary services at affordable prices & other
business-support services would also reduce business risk for the producers.
Risk/ Source and Impact Way to Mitigate
Challenge
Factor
Procurement • It is difficult to procure cattle in Samridhi will tie up with the necessary
Risk large numbers, more so when it is service providers to provide Artificial
important to take care of the Insemination for the goats, thus also
breed. catering for breed enhancement.
• The result could be slow
scalability of the project.
Quality Risk • Since we are procuring the goats Goats are purchased on agreement with
from Rajasthan, it is possible that the supplier, which will clearly state that
the supplier does not provide the payment to the supplier will be
genuine breed. made only after the goat delivers the
• The result could be low pre-stated amount of milk.
productivity of goats.
Risk on part of • Since the cost of the original cattle The formation of Village Committees will
the Member’s is not borne by the members, they ensure continuous monitoring.
Upkeep might not take proper care of the Moreover, the Village Supervisor will be
animal. making daily visits to each household
• The result could be deteriorating and recording the health status of the

15. health of the cattle, as well as low animal with a camera. The body weight
productivity. of the animal will be measured at
regular intervals and if fallen below a
particular level, the cattle will be taken
back by the company. All of this will be
communicated to the client beforehand
in the agreement. Also, since a major
part of the milk will be owned by the
client, he has a positive incentive to
maintain the cattle well.
Risk from • The client might report lesser The initial agreement will stipulate the
Competition milk, and sell it elsewhere to other amount of milk expected by the
parties in milk business. company. In case the shortfall reaches a
• The result could be a substantial particular amount, the company will
decrease in the company’s take the cattle back from the client.
revenues. Also, there is day to day monitoring
done by the Village Supervisor.
Reproductive • There could be time distortions in Samridhi will arrange for Artificial
Risk delivery of goat kids, since it Insemination for the goats, thus making
depends on a number of external the whole procedure scientific. Also the
factors that may not be in control para vets will record regularly and keep
of the goat rearer. a check on the time of goat’s heat
• This could result in slower period, so that the AI can be done at
scalability. appropriate time.
Risk from • It is possible that another Since we have already tapped the
Imitation organization could imitate the targeted area, it is difficult to another
model, and thus join the same party to enter the same geographical
area as a competitor. area. Also Samridhi has established an
• The potential clients may shift expertise in its management personnel
towards the competitor, thus as well as partnerships.
causing a decline in our revenues.
Cattle • Since the first batch of goats are We have our Community Manager
Mortality being procured from another trained in basic veterinary services, and
state, there is a risk attached to goat management. He makes weekly
their adaptability to the visits to the cattle rearers’ houses, and
environment in U.P ensures that they are being fed properly,

16. • Furthermore, extreme weather and gives them the required treatment
conditions can cause a fatal and medical services. We are also
environment for goats training a member from each village to
conduct these services.
Key Values of Samridhi
• Transparency:
Information related to acceptable quality parameters and the pricing based on these are made
available to milk producers. Not only the producers can witness the tests being done on the milk
they bring in daily right in their villages, they have also been given a sheet to arrive at the price
by themselves by knowing the test results. This gives them an assurance about the fair
treatment accorded to them.
• Direct & Regular Touch with the Producers:
Due to the insufficient procurement levels, many dairy plants have no option but to run their
plants below their installed capacities. This is because of their negligible presence in the place of
production i.e. at the villages. Many promoters of Samridhi not only have a degree in rural
management from a premier institute, but also have worked in the rural areas at the field level.
The orientation of the promoters has influenced Samridhi to find a direction, where it wants to
position itself as a company very close to milk producers, which benefits the shareholders by
ensuring long-term welfare of the milk producers. Our systems are being developed keeping in
mind the regular touch with the milk producers. Barring a few cooperatives in some states,
private companies normally tend to ignore this crucial part of dairy business and ultimately have
to depend upon middlemen for procurement.
• Professionalism:
Milk being a highly perishable commodity, its handling, processing & marketing requires a great
deal of domain knowledge. Samridhi acknowledges this fact and places a lot of emphasis on
bringing in professionalism into the business. Farmer-wise, village-wise data regarding
procurement is recorded & archived. This data follows a flow to the management team on a
daily basis and thus the management stays in touch with procurement levels. In making
strategies and framing guidelines / instructions, the management weighs all merits & demerits
of the proposed changes based on the incentives and dis-incentives for the parties involved.
• Expected Outcomes

17. Each dairy unit of Samridhi is expected to create 120 jobs at scale. Most of these jobs are taken
by people who don’t have any other predictable stream of income. Upaya expects that these
jobs will eventually lead to more stable life circumstances and higher quality of life and access to
other services. Samridhi is diligent about monitoring and reporting on multiple social indicators.
It is important for the team to ensure a tangible improvement in the lives of the ultra poor
women. Close monitoring of the below indicators also provides valuable input to the business
itself, and allows for course correction if outcomes are not aligned with expectations.
Based on initial lessons from pilot activity in the field, below are the outcomes and probable changes
over a period of one year:
Metric Pre-intervention Post-intervention Measured via
Residence • Stay in a kaccha 9 • Women live in Household Index
house pucca10 housing
Household assets • Household asset • Increased income Household Asset
value <$100 lead to Index
household’s buying
needed assets such
as fridge, electric
fan, etc.
• Household asset
value of over $300
Grameen PPI • Average score of • Average score Grameen PPI™11
score customers around increases to 35
25
Children’s • Women not • 75% of the women Household Cash Flow
education sending their kids sending their kids
to school for the to either
lack of money government or
private schools
9
Short-lived structure made of natural materials such as mud, grass, bamboo, thatch or sticks
10
A more stable house that has fixed walls made up of material like stones, cement concrete, timber, etc. but roof
is made up of the material like un-burnt bricks, bamboo, grass, thatch, etc.
11
The Grameen Foundation Progress out of Poverty Index™ (PPI) is designed to measure the poverty levels of
households and to track changes in poverty levels over time.

18. Financial inclusion • Don’t have bank • Active bank Samridhi metrics
accounts and accounts with
don’t save regular savings
Number of meals • Average 1.5 • Eat 2.5 meals/day Samridhi metrics
meals/day on average
• Customers note
increase in variety
of food
Partnerships:
Partner Services Offered Arrangement
Sanchetna 1. Providing customized loan products to Identical set of promoters
Financial meet the requirements of the clientele in
Services Private the area of operation
Limited 2. Information sharing about the possible
areas of intervention
UPAYA Social 1. Bridge capital investment Capital Investment
Ventures 2. Technical support on the business
planning
The Goat Trust 1. Sourcing of milch cattle Memorandum of Understanding
2. Training of Para-vets
3. Breed enhancement of goat population in
the area of intervention
Dewashish Milk 1. Purchasing milk from Samridhi Memorandum of Understanding
Foods Pvt. Ltd. 2. Providing support in chilling milk
Core Team
The core team at Samridhi has a solid track record in the dairy industry, as well as in microfinance and
other poverty-alleviating interventions that work directly with very poor and marginalized populations.
Two of Samridhi’s promoters have earlier worked for Amul – India’s largest milk cooperative. They
understand the entire value chain of milk production from the source to consumption and have added
significant insights in the construction of the business model. Samridhi will leverage their experience

19. while expanding the company’s operations. All team members are passionate about this space and have
ile
completed their graduate degrees from one of India’s premier institutes for economic development.
Samridhi’s close association with Sanchetna is beneficial to both the organizations. In its next phase of
development, Sanchetna is diversifying to livelihood financing. One of its major focus areas is dairy
farming and the organization has already started a cattle loan. Making these loans available to
employees who wish to expand beyond existing cattle assets will help Samridhi get scale in milk
ho
production. In fact, Samridhi expects each ultra poor household to qualify for Sanchetna loans once they
feel ready to manage additional cattle assets. Given Sanchetna’s strong and positive brand awareness in
strong
these communities, Samridhi also benefits from this association in villages around Lucknow. Likewise,
Sanchetna benefits from heightened risk mitigation on its loans, knowing that Samridhi is providing
value chain linkages to its borrowers to increase their chances of earning a steady income.
ages
CEO - Lokesh Kr.
Singh
Sr. Manageer - Procurement Manager - New Initiatives
Niraj Pareek Garima Siwach
Executive - Procurement Executive - Business Development
Sunil Ray Dharmendra Kumar Ray
Village
BMC In-charge
charge Para-vets
Committee
Field Associate -
Procurement
Cattle Owners Lift-UP Clients
Management Profile:
Lokesh Kumar Singh
Lokesh is a Chemical Engineer from HBTI, Kanpur and holds a diploma in rural management from IRMA.
He has got over seven years of experience in different fields. He worked in SKS Microfinance Pvt. Ltd.
(India’s largest NBFC-MFI) for over 3 years where he headed the expansion between 2004 and 2007 in
MFI)
12 states including UP, MP, Rajasthan & Bihar. During this time, he built and managed a loan portfolio of
over Rs. 200 Crores with 100% repayment rate. During this period he recruited and managed over 1200
employees.
Having been associated with Samridhi since inception gives him insights into managing the overall
operations of Samridhi. He looks after the functions of procurement as well as new initiatives which has

20. mandate to enhance the procurement as well as other interventions to meet the requirements of
customers of Samridhi.
Niraj Pareek
Niraj is an alumnus of the Accenture-XLRI HR Academy (first batch) and has over five years of
experience. He worked in the Accenture India Delivery Centre at Bangalore for over two years in the HR
Team. As part of their recruitment team, he was involved in recruiting over 24,000 employees in two
years. Prior to Sanchetna, he had a stint with a UP based MFI, where he managed their Varanasi and
Dehra Dun regions.
Niraj Pareek was instrumental in spreading the operations of Samridhi to different geographies.
Currently he looks after the function of procurement which includes starting new centers, maintaining
chilling facilities, looking for prospective buyers of the chilled milk as well as co-ordination with Business
Development team so as to enhance the procurement.
Garima Siwach
Garima is in-charge of new initiatives for Samridhi. Currently she is looking after the initiative for
livelihood creation through providing cattle to below poverty line population in target area of
Samridhi. Garima is a Post Graduate in Economics from The University of Mumbai. She has worked on
several research projects such as ‘Self Serving Biases Created by the Reservation Policy in India’,
‘Banking Sector Reforms in India’, ‘Health and Education infrastructure in developing countries’ and
‘Land Rights and Land Reforms, from the gender perspective’.
Board Members
Member Qualification Current Occupation Prior Experience
Lokesh Kumar Singh B.Tech. Founder – Samridhi Over 7 years in social sector including
PGDRM (IRMA) Agri Products 3 years with SKS handling operations
in 11 states
Niraj Pareek PG Certificate from Director – Samridhi Over 5 years including 2 years with
XLRI Agri Products Accenture in HR Team

21. Sachita Shenoy MBA - University of Executive Director Management Consultant – PWC
Chicago UPAYA Social Ventures Director – SPM at UNITUS
Chris Turillo MBA – University of Co Founder – Medha Director – SKS Foundation USA
Chicago Intern – Sequioa India
Prabhat Singh Bisht B. Tech. – Pantnagar Management Sr. Manager - NDDB
Consultant