Anand Chandra on Transforming Rural Finance and Scaling Arya to Success

I am thrilled to have Anand Chandra, the founder of Arya.ag, India’s largest grain commerce platform which bridges the gap between sellers and buyers of agriproducts, providing complete assurance on quantity, quality, and payments. Arya Collateral has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Quona Capital, the U.S. International Development Finance Corp, Lightrock, and Stride Ventures. In this episode, Anand Chandra, founder of Arya, India’s largest green commerce platform, shares his journey from banking to entrepreneurship. Anand discusses the challenges of financing small and marginal farmers, building trust in fragmented agri supply chains, and scaling a profitable business with limited equity. He highlights Arya’s innovative use of tech for transparency, the impact of COVID-19, and their roadmap to IPO readiness. Anand also shares insights on hiring for attitude, expanding operations, and much more! Timestamps Banking to Entrepreneurship (1:30) Pain Point in Agriculture (3:15) Regional Financing Challenges (6:00) Career Decision (9:30) Bootstrapping Approach (12:45) Differentiating in Agri Supply Chains (16:30) Tech Transparency in Agriculture (20:00) Acquiring Arya Collateral (23:00) Navigating COVID-19 Challenges (26:15) Building Trust with Farmers (29:30) Guarantee Fund for Farmers (32:45) Exciting AgriTech Innovations (36:00) Impact of Farm Laws (38:45) Profitability Focus (42:30) Company Culture (46:00) IPO Plans (49:15 Expansion Focus (50:45 Hiring Philosophy (52:30) Launching New Products (55:00) Challenges in Training Workforce (58:15) Growth Strategies (1:01:30) Anand’s Links  LDN– https://www.linkedin.com/in/anand-chandra-76842518 Website –  Arya.ag My Links  Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes YouTube:  youtube.com/lifeselfmastery Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit857/ 5-day email course: www.enterprisesalesexpertise.com