Startup

S Haripriya started Extrokids, an online toy store to provide brain development toys for children. Helped by her mother S Banu, the store today boasts of over five lakh followers on Instagram and gets 15,000 orders per month.

There is potential brimming in the Entrepreneurial Households across India, making them significant players in driving economic growth. Join us on a drive through the villages of Karnataka to explore these hubs of vibrancy.

In 2021, three college friends Jagat Kalyan, Satyam Kumar, and Nitish Verma launched Taruwar Agro to make banana fibre folder, yoga mats, baskets, paintings, coasters, and more. Following a zero-waste approach, they process all parts of trees – from leaves to stems and pulp – into useful products.

India has emerged to be the third largest startup ecosystem globally with over 1.25 lakh startups and 110 unicorns. From eco-friendly solutions to empowering women and preserving traditional recipes, here are 10 emerging Indian businesses making a significant impact on the country’s startup ecosystem.

Driven by her own experiences, former software developer Gayathri Kanumuri embarked on a mission to revolutionise breastfeeding support through her startup, NariCare. Through one-on-one consultations and a dedicated breastfeeding support group on WhatsApp, she has helped more than 400 new mothers across India, Australia, the USA, and Canada.

Kerala-based Beena Tom uses her cooking skills to make a variety of dishes from flowers and fruits available in her backyard – from coconut, arecanut, mangoes, guavas, to butterfly peas. Her passion led her to establish a thriving enterprise ‘Bees of Beena’, where she sells homemade jams, pickles, squash, juices, chips, and honey.

Kerala-based farmer Brijith Krishnan started Eatery Malbarikas that makes dishes using sprouted cashew nuts. Interestingly, he enhanced the germination potential of cashews and helps fellow cashew farmers as well.

Reshma Suresh founded 'Tocco' to empower home chefs, helping them showcase their talents through homemade regional delicacies infused with nostalgia and local flavours. Prepared in small batches, these dishes also offer busy people easy access to healthy, wholesome meals.

Plugzmart, a startup run by Vivek Samynathan and Ragavendra Ravichandran, and incubated at IIT-Madras, runs a fast EV charger for electric cars.

Inspired by the widespread love for Kozhikoden halwa, four friends — Shabas Ahamed N C, Sanu Muhammed C, Irfan Safar S, and Thesreef Ali P K — founded Fulva, a Kerala-based startup delivering various flavours of halwa and other authentic traditional snacks.