The technology manufacturer d.light, based in Delhi, Northern India, designs high quality solar lights that cost on average US$15 and are sold to low-income customers in rural, off-grid areas. d.light‘s exclusive use of door-to-door salesmen has failed to achieve their desired market penetration and social impact. As most of their human and financial resources are invested in product design and manufacturing instead of distribution, it is difficult for d.light to independently overcome the fragmented distribution lines that snake across the nation. Similar to d.light, there are hundreds of organizations that make essential life-improving technologies but struggle to ratchet up their scale and grow their customer base.

Meanwhile, 1,500 miles away in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, Southern India, Javed owns a 400 square meter shop on a main road with 10 other local retail shops. His shelves are crammed full with Coke bottles, toiletries and other consumable goods. Javed’s store gives him a yearly profit of US$2,500, and every week he spends minimum US$5 and nearly a full day traveling to Coimbatore to restock his shelves. His customers are local farming households that spend US$1,000 on retail per year. Javed is looking for ways to distinguish his business from local competition and increase his income. There are 14 million shop owners like Javed in India, and for 90% of India’s population, these local retail shops are their lifeline to consumer products.

There is a gap between d.light and Javed- a rift between the suppliers of essential technologies and local retail shops that could sell their products. Javed does not know about these essential technologies, where to find them, or how to service them.

Essmart offers a solution. Essmart delivers the goods.

Essmart is an essential technology distributor with an embedded retail presence in India’s rural shops, beginning in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu. Our model focuses on the distribution gap by combining process innovations in sourcing high-quality technologies and distributing to rural areas. We reach end users through the extensive retail shop network that services local communities.