Focused on innovation and entrepreneurship, the Mittal Institute’s annual Seed for Change (SFC) competition awards funding to bold, creative ideas developed by Harvard students with the potential to drive meaningful impact in India. Meet this year’s grand prize winner, The Paal.
2025 Seed for Change Winner ($30,000)
The Paal
Manali Jain, Master in Public Policy ’25, Harvard Kennedy School
Manali Jain, a student at HKS, and her team partner Shivam Johri are the visionaries behind The Paal, a platform that empowers smallholder farmers, particularly women, to own insured, high-quality cattle by turning livestock into a retail investment asset class. The Paal offers comprehensive support—including affordable feed, veterinary care, and market access—to ensure sustainable and profitable dairy farming. The model boosts farmer incomes, and creates a scalable opportunity for retail investors to earn returns while driving social impact.
“Out of 100 million farmers in India, two-thirds rely on livestock for their livelihood—most of them small and marginal farmers with limited access to land. Of these, 70% are women,” write Jain and Johri. These farmers face a range of challenges, including financial constraints, limited access to livestock management resources, and gender-based barriers that hinder their ability to sustain or grow their businesses. The Paal addresses these gaps by providing insured, healthy cattle and comprehensive support to women farmers, ensuring their livestock thrive and their livelihoods strengthen.
Images, clockwise from left: HKS student Manali Jain; one of the lifestock; a newborn calf, part of The Paal herd.
Retail investors contribute funds to purchase insured cattle, which are then provided to farmers through Pashu Saathi—local liaisons who offer ongoing support, veterinary care, and essential resources at no cost to the farmers. The milk produced is sold to cooperatives and B2B buyers, with profits shared among investors, farmers, and The Paal.
“Approximately 40–50% of the profits go to farmers, while investors receive returns of 9–13% depending on the investment tenure. The remainder supports The Paal’s operations and growth,” explain Jain and Johri. They add that one out of every five calves born is given to the farmer as an asset, while the remaining are distributed to other farmers within the model. “This cycle creates a 5x impact per cow, which typically has 7–8 lactations in its lifetime. It ensures our financial success is directly tied to the success of our farmers—truly transforming their livelihoods.”
The Seed for Change competition is made possible by a generous grant from KP Balaraj MBA ’97 and Sumir Chadha MBA ‘97.
☆ The views represented herein are those of the interview subjects and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Mittal Institute, its staff, or its Steering Committee.