A Startup Providing Eco Friendly Alternatives for Better Tomorrow

Pragati Dhanuka is the founder of KSAMAH. KSAMAH aims to inspire people to purchase aspirational Eco-friendly alternatives to live a more healthy and natural lifestyle, also, give the earth a chance it deserves. Pragati was in conversation with Susparsha Gaikwad, Assistant Editor at incubees.com.

INCUBEES: Tell us about your product or services? 

Pragati: KSAMAH –Pronounced “sha-mah” is a Sanskrit word which means epithet of the lord -‘The pure one; purity as god’. Ksamah is set-up to do its small bit to avert earth crisis (a crisis much bigger than a covid crisis).

People face issues when they want to change their lifestyle to a more eco-friendly one with respect to the following:
a) they don’t get alternatives easily.
b) alternatives are dull & not well made. They are not designed properly & are not well researched.

We have launched BOXES (Ecological start-up Kits, Office Ecological Boxes, Home Boxes, Travel Boxes, etc) wherein one shot you get a chance to reduce Carbon footprint.

We at Ksamah aim to inspire people to purchase aspirational Eco-friendly alternatives to live a more healthy and natural lifestyle, also, give the earth a chance it deserves.

INCUBEES: What makes your product/services unique and what competition do you see in India and globally?

Pragati: Each and every product is designed with a lot of thought about the environment and is based on a wildlife theme. Some of our products are made from crop waste which saves it from burning, thus avoiding pollution. Some are made from bamboo such as Toothbrushes, straws, T-shirts. Bamboo is a fast-growing wild plant & available in abundance, most important products of bamboo are fully biodegradable. We have recycled paper Diary & paper pens with us. We offer themed Jute bags and sling bags for youth.

USP of KSAMAH is that all these products are made for KSAMAH (some self-manufactured such as straws and some contracted with our proprietary designs)

INCUBEES: What are the challenges you see in the market at this point in time?

Pragati: It becomes difficult for people to adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle due to – low availability of alternatives, ignorance about eco-friendly options, eco-friendly products are not widely available, products are expensive.

We at KSAMAH are trying precisely to address the above problem with our ECOLOGICAL BOX concept. We are inviting the world to now move to ecological products so that exponential effects can happen and do their small bit to save wildlife/earth.

INCUBEES: Tell us about your team and what inspires them?

Pragati: It’s a women-oriented start-up. Our founder Ms. Pragati Dhanuka. She has a textile background. She was inspired by comes from’Save Aarey’ movement and switched over to eco-living. She researched for a year before launching KSAMAH. Our team members Kedar Seth the Business & Operation Head is with us for the last 1 year. And Alpa Parmar joined the Ecommerce Manager joined a few months back. The belief that together we can make a difference runs in all of them.

INCUBEES: Where do you see your product/service reaching in the next five-years?

Pragati: Our products are now widely available on various marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, brown living, achhedin, etc., and we too have our websitewww.ksamah.com. Our aim is two-fold – firstly we want our young generations to pick up eco-friendly lifestyles, secondly, we want the corporates to adapt and switch to eco-friendly products for their employees and for gifting solutions. We also want people to change their gifting ideas and opt for more eco-friendly options during weddings or any family functions. Also, we strive to make the MADE IN INDIA trend shine.

INCUBEES: Do you have plans to raise funding to grow your business or allow your business to organically grow?

Pragati: Yes we do have plans to raise funding in the future as currently we are bootstrapped. To ensure the acceptability of KSAMAH products and investing in many new ideas and eco-solutions we would need funding. We also want to expand globally. We are open to seeking funding from investors who believe in saving the world from a crisis bigger than that of covid i.e. the earth crisis.

INCUBEES: What are the challenges you face as a startup?

Pragati: The marketing and promotion expenses that a start-up has to face especially to promote a new concept are very high. The advertising and promotion platforms charge the same amount to a start-up as much as to the corporates. Due to the pandemic, the supply chain is disrupted and prices are shooting the roof.