Below is the story of IRIS Polymers published in a book called – Necessity Entrepreneurs
Edited by Jeremi Brewer, CoFounder & CEO Elevate
Stephen W. Gibson, The Academy for Creating Enterprise, US
Publication Date: 2014, ISBN: 978 1 78195 617 5 E
Story 3: (Page 69)
Arun Awatade, IRIS Polymers
Poorly managed agriculture along with unpredictable weather patterns, has caused huge problems for farmers in Maharashtra . Arun’s company, Iris Polymers, manufacturing film-a plastic product which covers the soil, conserving water and strengthening the nutrients in the soil. as a result of his business, not only is he helping farmer and supporting the environment, but he has also created employment for supporting the environment, but he has also created employment for 25 staff.
When Arun completed his education. He has looking for a way to start a business. Having grown up with an understanding of the challenges faced by landless laborers and farmer in rural communities, he developed interested in mulching technique. With a small amount of saving, he teamed up with a childhood friend and started his business using scrap machinery. But he was unable to sustain the business.
Fortunately, he was introduced to BYST. Recognizing his potential, BYST provided Arun with a mentor and financing , trough a partner bank-enabling Arun to start a sustainable business in June 2012.
Arun was named the Social Entrepreneur of the year by both Youth Business International(YBI) and Barclays at the YBI Young Entrepreneur Awards in London. Arun Awatade’s range of plastic mulch is helping farmers to reduce their reliance on water and pesticides, helping to reduce costs, increase yield and maintain the environment. run cites one of his cutover, a tomato grower, was able to reduce usage of pesticide up to 80 percent in his two-acre land after using mulching film (YBI, 2014c)