Catalytic loan will help scale government-subsidized livestock units for smallholder farming households
Miller Center Capital, the impact investing arm of Miller Center for Global Impact at Santa Clara University, has provided a catalytic loan to Manikstu Agro, a Pune-based social enterprise transforming goat farming into a reliable livelihood for smallholder households across rural India. The investment was made in partnership with fund manager Beneficial Returns.
How Manikstu Agro Is Transforming Goat Farming Livelihoods in India
Founded in 2015 by Biren Sahoo and Jayanti Mahapatra, Manikstu began by operating their own goat farm, learning firsthand that rural livestock operations succeed or fail on the discipline of vaccination, health monitoring, and consistent care. That experience shaped the company’s core business model. Today, Manikstu delivers a government-backed end-to-end package, including a steel shed, starter herd, farmer training, remote monitoring, and para-vet support – which together equip families with a turnkey animal husbandry solution.
Across more than 800 villages in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, Manikstu’s model is already transforming livelihoods. Once a unit is operational, goat mortality falls to less than 10%, translating directly into higher, more predictable income for the women-led household enterprises the company calls “Goatpreneurs.” With nearly 8,000 sheds operational under India’s National Rural Livelihood Mission and demand spanning hundreds of villages in Raipur district alone, Manikstu is at an inflection point where an infusion of catalytic capital could mean the difference between incremental growth and impact at scale.
“After nearly 9 years of groundwork, we’re finally seeing the kind of traction we’ve long worked for—endorsement from government, institutional support, and real demand,” said Biren Sahoo, Co-founder and Director of Manikstu Agro. “But with that comes pressure: to recruit the right people, scale our tech stack, and build the on-ground infrastructure at speed. This investment is coming at exactly the right moment.”
Building the Right Support for Scale
Manikstu participated in the Miller Center Accelerator Program in 2024 and the In-Residence investment readiness program in 2025. The company has been accompanied throughout by start-up advisor and Miller Center executive fellow and mentor Swati Sinha, who deepened her commitment to Manikstu by participating in this catalytic investment alongside Miller Center Capital.
“What’s exciting about Manikstu is how they’re building a full goat management ecosystem,” Sinha said. “Manikstu is helping farmers not just manage their goats, but also access products, sell goat by-products, and even get trained to become entrepreneurs in the goat business. It’s tech meets impact, and it’s making a real difference on the ground.”
-
The Turnkey Model: Manikstu Agro addresses the high mortality rates that historically plagued smallholder goat farming. The enterprise provides rural households with a standardized package: a structurally sound steel shed, a vaccinated starter herd, remote monitoring tech, and dedicated para-vet support.
-
The Clinical Impact: Across more than 800 villages in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, the deployment of this strict veterinary protocol has successfully plummeted goat mortality to under 10%. The fresh infusion of capital will scale this “Goatpreneur” framework across hundreds of additional villages in the Raipur district, placing formalized animal husbandry tools into the hands of women-led rural enterprises.
