British International Investment

AkshayaKalpa Farms and Foods Private Limited

South AsiaFood and agriculture

Akshayakalpa is a fully-integrated direct to consumer dairy brand in South India. The company aims to increase sustainable and regenerative farming in India while improving the nutritional impact of dairy products available to consumers. It is India’s first certified organic and Fairtrade dairy enterprise.

Our investment

Description of the investment.

Our investment will support the company’s expansion, with the aim of helping increase productivity and improve income for farmers, and bringing more sustainably-farmed products to more consumers in India.

Impact information

Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.

What?

Impact
  • Support creation of rural economic opportunities (SDG 8.5).
  • Enhanced income for smallholder famers through market access and enhanced financial inclusion (SDG 2.3).
  • Promote sustainable agriculture (SDG 2.4.1).
  • Support improved nutrition (SDG 12: Sustainable consumption and production) among consumer families.

How?

Primary Secondary
  • Support improvement of farmers’ income through enhanced productivity and providing access to markets.
  • Support creation of jobs through expansion of operations and addition of jobs at the extension officer level. The investment will also support jobs through expansion of agent distribution network, delivery personnel and other retail channels.
  • Direct: Improved nutrition for families with access to safe and certified organic dairy products at their doorstep.
  • Indirect: Creation of high yield organic farms.

Who?

Stakeholder Geography Characteristics
Farmers (suppliers)

India

Farmers prior to being associated with AkshayaKalpa had income of less than INR 25k/month (equivalent to $5.5 per day).

~40 per cent of farmers who supply to the company do not own their own land and are leasing land for their dairy operations. Of those who own land, typical landholding is 3-5 acre of land.

Employees / contractors

India

~30-40 per cent of the company's employees are at the farm managing supply side operations including extension officers, farm infra services team, veterinarians.

Customers / Environment

India / Planet

Largely middle-higher income urban customers

How much?

Scale Depth/Duration

At the time of investment, there were 650 + active farms working with the company. Out of this, ~25 per cent of the farms have payments being made to accounts owned by women (this is notable given majority of labour for livestock farming is done by women but economic benefits are not recognised).

Initial estimates suggest farmers experience:

  1. Increase in income by approximately 2.5x during our investment horizon with dairy becoming primary source of income instead of income augmentation. Income is more predictable and regular due to daily payments.

  2. Growth of cows from 2-3 to approximately 15-20 cows through improved access to finance (96 per cent farmers financed) within a period of 2-3 years.

  3. Doubling of milk productivity and productivity of other crops in the farm due to scientific practices.

  4. Reduction in wastage of milk due to better dairy practices, chilling unit at farm gate.

Environmental and social information

  • Environmental and social summary

    A high-level description of the environmental and social aspects of the investment. This may include a summary of key environmental and social risks identified during environmental and social due diligence (ESDD); key elements of an environmental and social action plan (ESAP); or ways in which we plan to support the investee improve environmental and social standards, such as through their environmental and social management system (ESMS); as well as any other priority areas agreed with the investee.

  • Environmental and social risk

    A risk category rating, which indicates the level of environmental and social risk associated with an investment. For an explanation of the categorisations used, see here. We consistently provide an environmental and social risk category for all investments screened from 2023 onwards.

Environmental and social summary

We agreed on an environmental and social action plan (ESAP) with the company, focused on the development of a robust E&S management system, including internal capacity building, physical climate risk assessment, and assessment of new expansions.

Reporting and Complaints Mechanism

The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to [email protected] or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.

For any other general enquiries contact us at [email protected]

  • Key facts

    Last updated

    When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.

    :
    March 2025
    Project number

    An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.

    :
    D6224
    Status

    The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).

    :
    Active
    Region

    The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.

    :
    South Asia
    Country

    The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.

    :
    India
    Sector

    We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.

    :
    Business and consumer services
    Sub sector

    The sub-sector that the investment is made into; this provides a more granular level of detail than the ‘sector’ information

    :
    Food Products

    We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.

    For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.

    For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.

    For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.

    For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.

    For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.

    For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.

    The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.

    For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.

    The currency in which the investment was made.

    Investment type :
    Guarantee
    Start date :
    February 2024
    Amount :
    $90.45k
    Currency of investment :
    INR
    Domicile

    The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.

    :
    India
    Climate finance

    Indicates whether the investment is climate finance qualified or partially climate finance qualified and the type of climate finance (adaptation, mitigation or both). We define climate finance using the multilateral development bank (MDB) and the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) Common Principles climate finance methodology. See Common Principles for Climate Mitigation Finance Tracking and Common Principles for Climate Change Adaptation Finance Tracking. We provide the climate finance qualification and type for commitments from 2020 onwards, which is when we launched our Climate Change Strategy.

    :
    Fully qualified
    Climate finance type

    Mitigation: Indicates investments which, by avoiding or reducing GHG emissions or increasing GHG sequestration, contributes substantially to the stabilisation of GHG concentrations in the atmosphere – at a level which prevents dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system consistent with the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement

    Adaptation: Indicates investments aimed at preventing or reducing the risks or vulnerabilities posed by climate change and increasing climate resilience. This includes both adapted activities and enabling activities to manage and reduce physical climate risks

    Dual: Indicates investments directed towards activities contributing to both climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation and meeting the respective criteria for each category

    The climate finance type of the investment is determined at time of commitment.

    :
    • Dual

Related investments made by BII into this company:

Investment name Commitment Region Sector Start date Status
Investment 01 $6.89m South Asia Business and consumer services July 2022 Active
Investment 02 $1.99m South AsiaSouth Asia Business and consumer services December 2023 Active

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