Nidhi Pant
CoFounder & Strategic Finance
S4S Technologies
Introduction
Inspired by the quote “We rise by lifting others”, S4S Technologies strives to provide a sustainable source of livelihood to its community while building a business with financial gains through the support and mentorship of investors and DBS Foundation (DBSF). We sit down with the co-founders of S4S Technologies as they share about their recent achievements.
- What is the difference that you are making through your business model?
Our business model works at the intersection of clean energy, agriculture and gender empowerment. First, the primary function is to minimise food wastage in the agri-food supply chain through farm-gate processing. Using our patented solar-powered food processing equipment, women farmers can now convert cosmetically damaged produce – that would traditionally have been discarded – into food ingredient. This end-product is then sold to companies in the food and beverage industry such as large-packaged food companies, hotels, restaurants, quick-service restaurants and cloud kitchens. - How did you scale up your impact?
We received funding from AT Capital which was most critical in expanding our reach and deepening the impact for our beneficiaries. For example, we have increased our village-level collection centres to 40 locations. All these centres are operated by women farmers that provide market linkage support to more than 8,000 Farmers in Aurangabad.
Besides waste reduction, we have also achieved a 15% increase in farmer profits due to savings in logistics and wastage.
In the next 18 months, we are planning to extend our support to an additional 10,000 farmers and increase our support from 800 to 2000 women entrepreneurs; to help them double their profits. In the area of clean energy, we have a goal to prevent upwards of 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) from entering our environment annually. - How has DBSF supported your journey thus far?
Whether in the form of funding or customised mentorship, the support from DBSF has been catalytic, to say the least.
Under their mentorship, not only have we strengthened our digital processes, we have also gained valuable connections through the peer-peer interactions with other startups.
Through DBSF’s platform, we increased the visibility of our work and the credibility of our business brand. Moving forward, we will continue to work closely with DBSF to develop business gains and increase the positive impact to our communities through our branding and marketing strategies.
