Naukri karunga toh 24 ghante ke liye kisi ka gulam rahunga, aur hum kisan hai hum kisi ke gulam nahi rehna chahte.
-Jugadu Kamlesh
If that sentence doesn’t describe Kamlesh’s entrepreneurial zeal, I don’t know what will. Kamlesh Nanasaheb Ghumare aka Jugaadu Kamlesh won everyone’s heart with his recent pitch and jovial nature on Shark Tank India. He came along with his nephew Naru and presented his pitch for the invention of a pesticide trolley spray. He hails from Tarpada, a village 20 km away from Malegaon, Maharashtra.
Kamlesh comes from a family of farmers and hence understands their ordeals very well. He has a brother who serves in the Indian Army, and both of them together are the embodiment of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan.
Farmers have to use pesticides to protect their crops, these pesticides have ill effects on their health and cause various diseases. Kamlesh’s father also suffered from a disease caused by pesticides, whence came the inspiration for Kamlesh’s invention presented on Shark Tank – a pesticide trolley spray.
There are several pesticide sprayers available in the market. The ones which are cost-effective are to be held on shoulders, others cost too much which most of the farmers in India won’t be able to afford. In the quest of making something to aid his father and several other farmers like him, Kamlesh created a trolley-like design where the pesticide bottles can be kept, it also has a handle wherein the sprayer is attached, making it easier to use.
Without any professional degree, Kamlesh designed the product back in 2014. He bought scraps from his nearby scrap dealer and started creating these sprayers. He used it himself and kept tweaking it with necessary changes. It took him 7 years to finally create the design that he presented on Shark Tank.
He received funding of 10,00,000 rupees for 40% equity from Shark Peyush Bansal along with a flexible no-interest loan of 20,00,000 rupees which he can repay in small amounts as he earns profits on selling the product.
With the funding he received, Kamlesh plans on making electric versions of his prototype which will also have the seed dropping feature along with creating other products that will help the farmers of the country greatly.
Kamlesh also has a YouTube channel with the name, Jugadu Kamlesh, and posted a video of him using the spray back in 2017 which went viral and currently has more than 8 million views.
Kamlesh has done his class 12th with Science stream, after that he started his BCA but since he didn’t have any interest in it he dropped out after two years. Kamlesh loves acting, singing, and inventing new things through jugad – all of which was pretty evident from his stance on the episode of Shark Tank.
There are several educated people in his village, some have even done engineering, but they currently don’t have a job. Kamlesh plans on employing these members of his village and creating an industry there through his venture.
When Peyush Bansal presented Jugadu Kamlesh with the offer, it filled every viewers’ heart. With his superstar performance, he didn’t just win the hearts of the Sharks but made every Indian fall in love with him and his zeal to help the farmers and progress the agriculture sector.
We are rooting for you, Jugadu Kamlesh!