Unleashing Rural Entrepreneurship.
Rural entrepreneurship is important for any developing country because in developing countries especially in Asia and the African continent more than half of the population lives in villages.
In the Indian context, when we say rural entrepreneurship, it is mostly either agriculture or handicraft-based ventures, needless to say, that, these trends are obvious because of the easy availability of related resources in terms of raw material and skill set.
However, the invention of technology, higher literacy in rural areas, the strong political will of the ruling government, and their nation-building brought modern business to the mainstream of rural entrepreneurship.
In this article, we will know the types of modern businesses that can be started in village areas and run successfully.
Discover the best small business ideas in India for rural areas, villages, and small towns. Explore opportunities in different sectors such as retailing, tourism, healthcare, and education, among others. With these profitable company ideas, you can unleash the potential of rural entrepreneurship.
The old long common trend of rural entrepreneurship is both livestock, dairy, and textile-based, but many of us are not aware that modern-day’s businesses can also be a good fit in rural areas.
Here are 10 best rural business ideas.
- Rural tourism and hospitality.
- Cable TV service.
- Electric Passenger Vehicle.
- Consumer durable Finance and Product Selling.
- Village Medi Shop.
- Affordable alimentary education.
- Handmade soap.
- Bicycle showroom.
- Mobile Wholesale Shop.
- Mobile Fertilizer Retail.
Please, note all these listed businesses are recommended in MSME format and must be having multiple business units, in other words, you can consider a chain model of business with moderate investment.
Let me share why I think the above business ideas are the best fit for rural entrepreneurship, I will explain one by one.
Embrace the potential of rural entrepreneurship: Exploring the Tourism and Hospitality Business Idea in Rural Areas.
This rural business concept is not about putting a simple resort or hotel in a village, rather, the business aims to package the serenity, freshness, specialty, and simplicity of a village and sell.
You can identify the villages with some special aspects associated with and having some unique selling proposition elements in their nature and then package them for selling. As an example, you may tie up with tea gardens and build up a resort to promote tea tourism, For another example, you may look for a village having beautiful sunset views and horizons and package specialty cuisine of the area, and culture to build a tourism spot.
The built, facility, pattern, and types for the resort you will set up highly depend on the investment, however, my suggestion is to invest for totality but not for huge, start small, and gradually grow.
The biggest advantage of rural tourism is that the prospective users when of rural tourism do not demand sophistication but peace of mind and comfort, so you do not have to invest high for making the business sophisticated like any start category hotel does. Another advantage is that your cost of running will always be on the lower side, be it manpower, maintenance, procurement, etc.
Unlock the possibilities of rural entrepreneurship: Exploring the Cable TV Service Business Idea in Rural Areas.
I have already written a long article on how to start a cable tv service business, you may click here to read it. For your information, the cable TV service business gives almost 40% to 50% margin and requires very less investment to build up a business unit that will give 1 lakh subscription revenue every month. There are a few big companies you may contact for operatorship NXTDIGITAL a Hinduja Conglomerate is one of them that provides a high-tech and easy-to-adopt platform.
Revolutionizing rural transportation: Exploring the Electric Passenger Vehicle Business Idea and its potential for rural entrepreneurship.
The trend is electric rikshaw, that carries 3 to 4 people at a time. The mode of business will depend on your investment, you can buy e-rikshaw in bulk and lease/rent them to villagers, this is one of the business models, another is, you can open a small showroom of e-rikshaw and e-two-wheeler.
The margin you can expect is a minimum of 20% and the cost of an e-rikshaw will be around 1.5 Lakhs each, for a two-wheeler it depends on type ranging from 80K to 1.5 Lakhs.
The leasing/renting business model can be a very attractive proposition to the Government as it will generate employment, also you can approach the appropriate Govt authority for different support.
Empowering rural communities: Exploring Consumer Durable Finance and
Product Selling as a thriving avenue for rural entrepreneurship.
Microfinance is a hit business in rural India, though that mostly works on supporting self-employment. Microfinance is a success in rural areas because of its minuscule nature hence with a similar approach you can try consumer durables loans and sell low-value durable products under a single roof.
The business model must be a mix of lending and selling low-value durable products like refrigerators, cooler, mobile phones, etc. You can open a small showroom and take the agency of different lenders to provide the EMI services.
The advantage of this business is that you are making things affordable through the EMI option and side-by-side lending to people who has permanent residents, so your lending business becomes risk-free as well as selling durables will earn you good profit.
Enhancing healthcare access: Exploring the Rural Medical Shop Business Idea and its role in rural entrepreneurship.
Thousands of villages in India still lack a proper supply of generic medicines, this is a big opportunity for aspiring retail entrepreneurs who want to build up a chain of Medi Shops across the rural areas of India.
The business can be operated with very low fixed cost, even you can think about operating a shop with a single person. Per unit profitability may not be high but when you will operate with a chain shop model the profit may come with a good size. Installing a virtual consultation facility may further help you build your business strongly.
Empowering rural communities: Exploring Affordable Alimentary Education as a catalyst for rural entrepreneurship.
A novel business serves the purpose of welfare more than a monetary goal, hope you will agree on that! If you are an aspiring social entrepreneur may try this rural entrepreneurship. Open 10 or more alimentary schools in 10 villages and provide modern-day education at affordable cost.
The advantage of this business is you will get cheaper space and an easy source of good people (Local teachers) to run this business. For this business appoint locally train them and let them run the business. A 50-to-70-seater affordable alimentary school will always be in demand and return profit. A well-thought-through and planned Affordable alimentary education business model can take a big shape across the nation.
Nurturing creativity in rural communities: Exploring the Handmade Soap
Business Idea and its potential for rural entrepreneurship.
Handmade shops are trending now in urban households. You can make handmade soap production a complete rural entrepreneurship. You may approach villagers to make soap for you at their homes, then package them nicely on your behalf, then, you sell them in the urban market. I think this is a great idea and if executed in a planned way can bring your entrepreneurial dream true.
In this village business model, you must train villagers on production and supply the raw material. I am sure this business model will get support from the government as well as villagers as this will create employment opportunities. I have used Handmade soap as an example only, you can think through a variety of handmade products that have potential in the urban market.
Promoting eco-friendly transportation: Exploring the Bicycle Showroom Business Idea and its role in rural entrepreneurship.
I have already written a complete article about selling used bicycles in the rural market, to read that click here. Used and refurbished bicycles can be a big success in the rural market due to their affordable price tag. You can even mix up the inventory with new ones to maximize the product portfolio and cater to all segments in the rural areas.
The refurbished bicycle can earn you a 25% to 30% margin and the new one will easily give you a 15% to 20% margin depending on the brand. Another revenue source can be servicing and spare parts.
Driving connectivity: Exploring the Mobile Wholesale Shop Business Idea as rural entrepreneurship.
Generally, the village vendors travel to near suburban or city areas to get their merchandise from the wholesale point or distributors, the challenges they face are as below.
- Time-consuming activity.
- Extra cost due to carriage or transportation.
- Lacks options for small-size buying.
- Lacks immediate refilling option.
If you can solve these problems and cater to the rural vendors as per their requirements the business model will be a big success. To implement this business model, you can establish a wholesale spot in a place that is centered around multiple villages then send your vehicle loaded with stuff to the village vendors. This rural business model will open two avenues to earn revenue, that are, on shop selling and remote selling.
Empowering agricultural growth: Exploring the Mobile Fertilizer Retail Shop Business Idea and its role in rural entrepreneurship.
This is the simplest form of retailing, in this business model, you will reach the villages on a wheel taking the fertilizer along. Please remember, to bring the success you need to select the villages appropriately, like, the village must grow multiple crops throughout the year, and the majority of the farmers are independent and small… why I am considering this because if you target a village where production is controlled by big size farmers they will not buy fertilizers in small quantity and retail price, rather they will procure in bulk at a lower rate from the distributors or even from the companies.
Conclusion.
These are just a few diverse forms of rural entrepreneurship. You may brainstorm and find more opportunities. The most important part is to take care of the volume and quick movement of products, one way of ensuring volume and fast movement is by adopting a chain form of business that I have mentioned at the beginning of this article.
Rural entrepreneurship can be rewarding if you correctly identify the needs and channelize the local resources cost-effectively. I will always suggest having proper research before you start and following a solid business plan.
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