Agritech firm Rukart, which sells 'Subjee Cooler' to enhance shelf life of fruits and vegetables, has tied up with SBI to help potential customers in getting easy loan options to buy the product.
Founded in May 2019, Rukart manufactures Subjee Cooler, a cold chain storage system that requires only 20 liters of water a day to function. It increases the shelf life of fruits, flowers and vegetables by 4-6 days.
The cost of the product is Rs 50,000 each and one Subjee Cooler has a storage capacity of 100 kg.
Rukart is mentored by the Powering Livelihoods program, jointly run by Council On Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and Villgro Innovations Foundation.
Rukart said in a statement that it has partnered with India's largest bank State Bank of India (SBI) aiming to mitigate distress sales among marginal/small farmers and retailers.
Farmers and retailers can now buy Rukart's Subjee Cooler with ease through SBI's affordable EMIs, it added.
In the past four years, RuKart said it has deployed more than 1,000 Subjee Coolers across 10 states in the country including Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana.
In the year of its inception, Rukart has done business of around Rs 63 lakh by selling 126 Subjee Coolers in Maharashtra.
Dinesh Kumar Jha, AGM, SBI Solapur, Maharashtra, said, it has collaborated with Rukart, which is dedicated to minimizing the carbon footprint through their innovative solutions.
"The partnership will help bridge the gap between the financial and agricultural sectors, resulting in greater financial inclusion and a more sustainable and prosperous rural sector," he said.
Sharayu S Kulkarni, Co-Founder, RuKart, said, the tie-up will assist farmers and retailers in adopting clean energy-based cold chain solutions.
"Our Subjee Cooler is user-friendly. It can be installed at farm gates/retail outlets without requiring any external power," Kulkarni said.
RuKart has expanded its product range to include portable and mobile models.
