Building for Bharat: How startups are solving India's unique challenges

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India’s growth as a global economic leader is being propelled by a 5D vision backed by democracy, demographic dividend, digitisation, diversity and demand. Today, India has two contrasting markets - India and Bharat. This dichotomy goes far beyond semantics, reflecting stark differences in aspirations, access, and affordability. The heart of Bharat, where ~70% of the population resides, lies in the rural, semi-urban, and underserved India beyond metros providing a massive, unprecedented opportunity & scale. It’s where aspirations are rising faster than access and digital reach is expanding, but infrastructural gaps persist. And where startups are now rewriting the rulebook—developing uniquely Indian solutions for deeply Indian problems - using local insights, simple innovations, and community trust.

At Rukam Capital, we believe the next generation of impact-driven startups will be built not just for India, but for Bharat, where the problems are real, the users are new, and the solutions must be designed ground-up.

The Bharat Opportunity

While urban India chases global trends, it’s in the lanes of Tier 2+ towns where India’s biggest problems, and therefore, its biggest startup opportunities lie. Bharat has become digitally visible and the main driver of the delta of opportunity that the nation provides - thanks to affordable smartphones, low-cost data, and government-led digital infrastructure (like Aadhaar, UPI, ONDC, Startup India, Digital India and Jan Dhan), Tier 2+ India is no longer on the sidelines with 800 million+ consumers. This shift has created a massive untapped market for services across financial inclusion, agriculture, education, healthcare, and skilling. These are not just billion-dollar opportunities—they are impact-driven, resilience-tested problem statements that demand frugal innovation.

Where legacy institutions often failed to deliver, startups are stepping in with local intelligence, frugal innovation, and community-driven trust. Bharat’s rural and semi-urban regions, often underserved by legacy institutions, now represent a massive, untapped market for startups willing to innovate from the ground up.

Startups Redefining the Game

New-age Fintech startups are empowering Bharat by bridging the trust and access gap for millions, complementing traditional financial systems. They are doing this by customising solutions for hyperlocal needs: designing mobile-first, vernacular interfaces and leveraging Aadhaar + UPI infrastructure.

As an example, Orange Retail Finance, a Rukam Capital portfolio company, which is enabling last-mile credit in smaller towns by focusing on the real needs of underserved users offering tech-enabled lending for small business & even two-wheelers. Their model bridges the digital and physical divide while offering a faster & easier documentation.

With over 50% of the workforce depending on agriculture, startups are transforming entire supply chains using AI, remote sensing & hyperlocal data. This connects farmers to quality inputs, better buyers, and real-time insights, boosting both productivity and incomes.

The young, aspirational and value-conscious consumers are looking for affordable, handmade & natural food options while staying authentic to regional palates & aligning with global wellness trends. Startups like Go Desi, are tapping into nostalgic Indian flavors, repackaging traditional snacks with hygienic, branded, and scalable formats.

India’s $30,000 crore beauty retail market is ripe for innovation, yet many products remain imported, ill-suited for Indian skin tones and climates ignoring Bharat’s unique needs. A fast-emerging space in Bharat is affordable, aspirational personal care. With rising income, aspirations and exposure, beauty is no longer just a metro trend. Mila Beauté, a Rukam-backed brand, is tapping into this demand by offering quality-driven, sensibly priced skincare-infused makeup tailored for Indian skin types, tones, climate and preferences with a hyper-localized approach. Their omnichannel approach ensures reach across urban and semi-urban audiences, capturing Bharat’s evolving sense of self-care and grooming.

India’s beauty market, long reliant on imported goods, is seeing a rise in brands that focus on affordable, quality options suited to local needs. Startups are now creating skincare and makeup products designed for Indian skin tones and climates, reaching customers in both urban and semi-urban areas.

Indian EdTech startups are tapping into India’s linguistic diversity and exam-focused culture by creating low-bandwidth, vernacular-first platforms and hybrid (online + offline) models to address infrastructure and trust barriers. India’s blue- and grey-collar workforce are applying for gig & upskilling opportunities using skill-based filters, vernacular interfaces, and even video resumes. With a stretched healthcare infrastructure, startups reimagined access via teleconsultation & telemedicine, doorstep diagnostics, and remote patient monitoring in regional languages on platforms like Whatsapp, which users are comfortable with.

Access and infrastructure are pivotal in unlocking Bharat’s potential, enabling last-mile connectivity for millions. Government initiatives like Digital India, BharatNet, and affordable data plans have laid a robust foundation, connecting remote regions to digital ecosystems. Investments in roads, electricity, mobile networks, increasingly affordable smartphones and internet access have made it possible for startups to reach remote geographies with scalable solutions. Startups are leveraging this infrastructure to deliver seamless services, from teleconsultations to vernacular e-platforms, ensuring that even the most underserved communities can access opportunities. By building on this digital backbone, innovators are bridging geographical and socio-economic divides, making Bharat a vibrant hub for scalable, inclusive solutions.

Designing for Bharat: Innovation at the Edges

Building for Bharat requires a different design philosophy with:

• Voice-first and vernacular-first personalised experiences powered by AI

• Offline, community-led or assisted commerce models, especially where smartphones or trust are limited for better trust

• Scalable & frugal models with sachet pricing, mobile-first models

With challenges like lower ARPU, longer trust-building cycles, infrastructure gaps, low literacy, and language barriers, only startups with exceptional resilience, patience, and a deep understanding of local contexts along with innovation survive & thrive. Bharat-focused startups benefit from longer gestation timelines, public-private partnerships, and impact metrics that go beyond GMV or CAC.

What’s Next: Future of Innovation

As India steps into its Amrit Kaal, the real innovation won’t just be in faster delivery or higher GMV, it will be in reimagining how 800 million people access opportunity. The next wave of startups will focus on relevance, not just scale - building models that can be replicated across emerging markets globally.

At Rukam Capital, we remain committed to backing visionary founders who are bold enough to build for this real, rising India, where impact and scale go hand in hand. As investors and ecosystem enablers, it’s time to ask ourselves: are we backing the real India – “Bharat”? Because Bharat is not a segment. It is the soul of the startup narrative unfolding in India.

By Archana Jahagirdar, Founder and Managing Partner, Rukam Capital