The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has successfully completed the first cohort of its flagship BHARATI (Bharat’s Hub for Agritech, Resilience, Advancement and Incubation for Export Innovation) acceleration programme, with 100 startups from 22 states and two Union Territories graduating from the initiative.
Launched to foster innovation-led growth in India’s agri-food export sector, the programme is aligned with the country’s ambition of achieving $50 billion in exports of APEDA-scheduled products by 2030, according to the Commerce and Industry Ministry.
The inaugural cohort was selected through a rigorous multi-stage evaluation process from more than 700 applications received nationwide. The selected startups represented a diverse range of entrepreneurs, aged between 17 and 75 years, highlighting the breadth of India’s innovation ecosystem.
Participants underwent a structured 120-hour export-focused acceleration programme covering export readiness, market access, business scaling, regulatory compliance, packaging, branding and investor preparedness. The programme also included one-on-one mentorship, expert-led masterclasses and interactions with government agencies, industry bodies, financial institutions, exporters and investors to strengthen market linkages and commercial opportunities.
As part of its international market exposure initiative, APEDA facilitated the participation of the top eight BHARATI startups at Gulfood 2026 in Dubai, one of the world’s largest food and beverage trade exhibitions. The startups engaged in more than 100 business-to-business meetings with global traders and importers, while showcasing product samples to prospective buyers.
APEDA Chairman Abhishek Dev said the BHARATI programme reflects the organisation’s commitment to creating a future-ready export ecosystem driven by innovation, entrepreneurship and global competitiveness.
The programme has already delivered tangible export outcomes within three months of its launch. Two agri-tech startups jointly exported nearly 37 metric tonnes of GI-tagged Jardalu mangoes to Dubai, while another startup completed the first-ever sea shipment of nutraceutical and botanically infused ready-to-cook millet-based functional foods to New Zealand using millet sourced from Karnataka-based Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).
A Maharashtra-based Farmer Producer Company exported nearly 850 kg of GI-tagged fig juice and jamun-based juice to the United States and the United Kingdom and subsequently secured a repeat order of around 1.25 metric tonnes. Meanwhile, a Karnataka-based startup working with more than 1,600 farmers across 12 states exported 40 metric tonnes of organic products, including pulses, heritage grains and GI-tagged native rice varieties.
Buoyed by the success of the inaugural batch, APEDA is set to launch the next edition of the BHARATI programme to further support startups developing innovative solutions for India’s agri-food export sector.
