Abstract

The case ‘Kheyti’s Greenhouse-in-a-Box – Protecting Farmers from the Vagaries of Nature’ is about a low cost technological innovation, an affordable greenhouse developed by Kheyti Tech Pvt Ltd (Kheyti). The greenhouse provided an additional and assured source of income to the small farmers who were affected by the vagaries of nature. Kheyti’s greenhouse-in-a-box (GIB) used 90% less water, and produced seven times more agri-outputs. The case starts off with the prestigious award received by Kheyti in the MassChallenge Israel contest in 2017. The case further looks at the impact of water scarcity on the agri-outputs of small farmers and the role of innovative agritech startups such as Kheyti in solving the problem. Kheyti’s (GIB) model is presented and further details are provided as to how its unique model of providing bundled services such as input linkage, loan linkage, advisory services, and market access services along with the GIB paved the way for sustainable development and for freeing the small farmers from the recurring cycle of poverty in which they found themselves due to frequent crop failures. The successful testing of its GIB model with 150 farmers in 15 villages in Telangana state, India, further led to 500 more farmers adopting the agritech innovation. By the year 2025, Kheyti aimed to sign up 100,000 farmers for its GIB, and create an impact on the sustainable use of water resources.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Analyze the importance and role of agritech startups and new technologies in solving the problems associated with global warming.
• Understand the importance of innovation in entrepreneurship.
• Understand the four-stage growth model of entrepreneurship.
• Analyze the difference between incremental innovation and disruptive/breakthrough innovation.
• Evaluate the relationship between sustainable development and technological innovation startups.

Keywords

Kheyti; Greenhouse; Greenhouse-in-a-Box; Startup; Agritech; Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Disruptive Innovation; Incremental Innovation; Sustainability; Farmer Distress; Agritech Startups