Explore how BhaMa Foundation & MSE Bazaar are empowering Odisha’s micro-enterprises through market linkage, fair pricing, and sustainable growth
While the Odisha Government has laid a vast foundation for rural empowerment through its various departments, a new player, BhaMa Foundation, is looking to refine the last-mile market dynamics. We sit down with Co-founders Mrs. Manorama Choudhury and Mr. Bhaskar Panigrahi, an NRI Couple, to discuss whether their MSE Bazar model can provide the missing link between grassroots production and the premium consumer. Excerpts of the conversation by Nilambar Rath Editor OdishaPlus with the Founders of BhaMa Foundation during their recent visit to India.
When Manorama is an author, Bhaskar is a hardcore professional rebuilding businesses and scaling them. How did the journey of philanthropy begin in you?
Bhaskar: Being an entrepreneur all my life, I am a capitalist. But I give my wife more credit for philanthropy. She is a compassionate poet and published author, and to a great extent, a philosopher who believes that words must have impact. Her kind heart resonates with many social causes. With every visit to India, she undertakes strenuous road trips to experience firsthand the realities of people and find ways to support them meaningfully. I, on the other hand, have been driven by numbers, finance and investments. But she taught me that the best investment is in philanthropy. Passion alone is not enough; it needs purpose. Together, we support several initiatives – Ekal Vidyalaya for education, Vision-Aid for the visually impaired, Akshaya Patra for midday meals, Desai Foundation for health and hygiene, AIF for community upliftment, and now BhaMa Foundation & MSE Bazaar for agri, non-agri and forest-based micro and small entrepreneurs. Our goal is to give back to society meaningfully.
Most social initiatives begin with a singular observation. For both of you, what was that specific “unmet need” in Odisha’s rural landscape that felt personal enough to warrant the birth of BhaMa Foundation?
Manorama: I agree with my husband that charity should not have vested interests. BhaMa did not emerge from a personal unmet need, but every action has a cause. During my visits to remote villages in India, I observed gaps between rural realities and urban progress. In early 2025, I visited Ranapur village in Nayagarh district, where women making sal leaf plates needed a machine to improve efficiency. I arranged CSR funds, but the delivery took months due to last-mile gaps. That experience stayed with me. BhaMa Foundation and MSE Bazaar Pvt. Ltd were born from such repeated observations, not from one moment.
Can you explain the dual-strategy approach of BhaMa Foundation and MSE Bazaar in strengthening MSEs from grassroots identification to market linkage?
Bhaskar: BhaMa Foundation focuses on strengthening livelihoods by diagnosing gaps, improving processes, enhancing skills, and building sustainable market linkages. Engagement happens directly or through community structures like Farmer-Producer Organizations (FPOs) and Producer Group Federations (PGFs). MSE Bazaar complements this by making enterprises market-ready and connecting them with the right buyers. Its work includes fair pricing mechanisms, sustainable market access through verified buyer networks, long-term B2B supply-demand linkages, and integrated service networks covering finance, logistics, and technology. Together, BhaMa and MSE Bazaar create a dual-strategy ecosystem, supporting MSEs from the grassroots to the marketplace and ensuring sustainable growth.
“Empowerment” is a term often used but rarely defined in tangible terms. Within your framework, where does the transition from a “beneficiary” to a “self-reliant entrepreneur” actually begin?
Bhaskar: That transition doesn’t begin with funding, training, or even opportunity; it begins with a shift in identity. A beneficiary is someone who receives support, whereas a self-reliant entrepreneur is someone who makes decisions, takes risks, and owns outcomes. The real transition starts at the moment a person stops seeing her/himself as a recipient and begins to see her/him as a value creator. At BhaMa, we see this unfold through three interconnected shifts: moving from receiving support to making independent choices about how to use skills and opportunities; taking responsibility for decisions, risks, and outcomes rather than just participating in a program; and, finally, earning consistently and beginning to see oneself as an independent value creator rather than just a participant. Empowerment is often loosely used, but at BhaMa, we have consciously defined and operationalized it. By the way, most of the entrepreneurs we engage with are women, and empowering those means strengthening our entire ecosystem.
In trying to bring tribal and rural products to a modern consumer, there is often a risk of “sanitizing” the product’s soul. How do you balance modern market standards with the raw, cultural authenticity of the producers you represent?
Manorama: That tension is real and necessary. Removing it entirely, you either lose the market or the soul. The balance lies in defining what must never change and what can thoughtfully evolve. Currently, our focus is on a B2B model until MSE Bazaar becomes self-sustainable. Bulk orders for raw materials help generate employment at the source and make it easier to train producers on market expectations, especially as we concentrate on select products at scale. To begin with, we are focusing on eight key products – Sal seed, mango kernel, turmeric, tamarind, lemongrass, dry fish, paddy – and one Vanajata retail outlet, providing valuable experience during the initial phase of scaling and intervention.
On the retail side, Vanajata Udyan Fresh engages directly with consumers, aiming to protect the core – the craft, the story, and the cultural meaning – while adapting packaging, sizing, and usability to modern expectations. The burden of balance does not fall solely on producers; consumer education is equally vital. We expand the market to appreciate the product rather than forcing the product to fit the market. The retail space also offers MSEs Opportunities to showcase their products with minimal transaction-based contributions, ensuring most profits return to them. Our trained staff bridges the gap, collecting consumer feedback for producers and narrating each product’s story, preserving authenticity while staying responsive to evolving market needs.
Market linkage is frequently the weakest link in the value chain. How does the MSE Bazar model ensure that the “Right Price” isn’t just a marketing slogan, but a sustainable reality for the producer at the bottom of the pyramid?
Manorama: You’re right, market linkage is often the weakest link. When we started, our focus as a non-profit was to equip micro and small entrepreneurs with the necessary tools, technology, and training. But our visits to rural Odisha revealed a deeper gap – efficiency alone is not enough without predictable market access. We realized that very few NGOs can sustain impact without a clear roadmap for last-mile connectivity. For BhaMa to be sustainable, we needed a circular economic model where producers are not just earning more, but gradually fueling their own growth. That led to the creation of MSE Bazaar as a marketplace.
In the initial phase, our B2B model ensures predictable demand and stable pricing, while consciously limiting intermediaries so that a larger share of the final price reaches the producer. We focus on select products at scale, improving efficiency in sourcing, training, and logistics, and, given the seasonal nature of many agri and forest products, this approach allows us to scale different products throughout the year. Ultimately, “right price” is not about paying more; it’s about creating conditions where fair pricing is viable and repeatable. When producers have market clarity, reduced risk, and a direct voice in the value chain, sustainability follows naturally.
The Odisha Government is active through Mission Shakti, Agriculture & Farmer’s Empowerment departments and ORMAS etc. In an ecosystem already rich with state-led initiatives, how does BhaMa Foundation find its own unique “niche” or “complementary rhythm” without duplicating existing efforts?
Bhaskar: Odisha already has a strong ecosystem through initiatives like Mission Shakti Odisha, Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment Odisha, and ORMAS. So our role is not to replicate but to complement and complete the loop. Odisha comprises around 58,000 villages organized under 6,500 Gram Panchayats across 314 blocks in 30 districts, creating a clear district-to-village administrative pathway. This structure provides a strong foundation, with MSEs as the fundamental unit of impact at the village level.
However, Individual MSEs cannot often scale, negotiate fair prices, or access formal markets on their own. This fragmented approach leads to high failure rates and limited income growth, despite government registration and initial support. We realised early on that approaching MSEs individually would be slow and fragmented. Inspired by the slogan “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,” we shifted to a cluster-based model not just for scale, but for efficiency.
Our niche lies in connecting the last mile to the market. While many state-led initiatives focus on mobilization and production, we focus on market linkage and aggregation, bringing together existing groups, aligning them with demand, and ensuring their products actually move. Clusters help us build localized networks of already organized producers, reducing duplication and strengthening what already exists. The existing challenge is the absence of synchronized flow from production to market. That is where BhaMa fits in, not as a parallel system, but as a complementary rhythm that ensures the ecosystem moves from capability to actual commerce.
You’ve adopted a cluster-based approach. In a state with diverse topographies like Odisha, how do you manage the logistical complexities of buying, processing, and packaging without the overheads consuming the potential profits for the farmers?
Bhaskar: Since our approach is largely B2B, processing and packaging overheads are minimized at the source. Our focus is to ensure that MSEs have access to local storage facilities, which helps reduce distress selling and unnecessary movement. We also decentralize operations. Instead of transporting raw produce over long distances, primary processing, grading, and aggregation happen within the cluster itself, closer to where the value is created.
Finally, we keep the system lean and need-based, investing only in essential infrastructure and leveraging existing local networks rather than building heavy, centralized systems. This way, logistical efficiency is built into the design, ensuring that overheads do not eat into the farmers’ potential profits.
In any supply chain, the aggregator often faces the “middleman” stigma. How is BhaMa positioning itself to be a value-adder, rather than just a traditional aggregator?
Bhaskar: That’s a valid concern. The term “aggregator” often carries the baggage of value extraction. At BhaMa, we are conscious of that perception and have designed our role to be a value enabler, not just a value collector. We aggregate with purpose, aligning products with real market demand to ensure better price realization and reduce uncertainty for producers.
Value is added at the source through training, quality alignment, and market feedback, so improvements happen before products even reach the market. By streamlining logistics, limiting unnecessary intermediaries, and negotiating fair prices across the chain, we ensure that more of the final value flows back to the producers, creating equitable and sustainable profits. Most importantly, we intend to build independence, not dependency. If, over time, producers can negotiate better, access markets directly, or scale on their own, that is success for us. So the difference is simple: A traditional middleman extracts value from the gap. BhaMa works to reduce that gap and share the value more equitably.
Many rural producers are caught in a cycle of “subsistence production”—producing just enough to survive. What is the specific “BhaMa intervention” that tips the scales toward a surplus-driven, commercial mindset?
Bhaskar: The assumption that all rural producers operate at the subsistence level isn’t always true. In many cases, the real challenge is managing surplus, not production. For instance, in one village we visited, farmers produce about 30–40 quintals of paddy per acre of cultivation in comparison to a standard production of 7 – 10 quintals per acre. However, government procurement caps at around 15 quintals per farmer, and without adequate storage or market access, the remaining produce is often sold at lower prices. So the issue is not scarcity, it is the inability to convert surplus into sustained income.
BhaMa’s intervention focuses on bridging this gap through access to basic infrastructure like solar dryers, deseeding machines, and other tools that improve capacity and quality. Even without increasing quantity, value addition and quality alignment enable better price realization. We are hopeful that when producers see a clear link between quality, market access, and income, their mindset will shift toward a more growth-oriented approach.
With various departments already working on rural connectivity and cold chains, where does BhaMa Foundation see its primary role—is it in the physical infrastructure of MSE Bazar, or in the “mindset coaching” of the entrepreneurs?
Manorama: At this stage, our primary focus is on helping entrepreneurs move from a production mindset to a market-oriented, value-driven approach. While infrastructure like connectivity and cold chains is critical, much of it is already in place through government efforts. Our role is to ensure that producers are ready to use these systems effectively. For instance, in one village, the government has installed a cold storage facility, but it remained unused due to a lack of training – an area where BhaMa can intervene. In another, a community storage space existed but was non-functional due to basic gaps like enclosure and electricity. Such cases highlight that often, activation matters more than creation.
Each context is different, and as MSEs begin to trust BhaMa’s intervention, they come forward with specific needs. Our approach is to strengthen and activate existing infrastructure rather than duplicate it. We see ourselves working alongside the ecosystem, not parallel to it, so that as systems improve, entrepreneurs are equally prepared to leverage them, ensuring sustainable livelihood enhancement.
Odisha is the starting point, but the challenges of rural entrepreneurs are universal. How scalable is the “BhaMa Model” for a national market, and what are the risks of losing that “local touch” during expansion?
Bhaskar: The BhaMa Model is designed for scalability, but always with the goal of preserving local context and authenticity. Our approach – cluster-based organization, market linkage, and mindset coaching – can be replicated in other states, provided it is carefully adapted to local geographies, crops, and community dynamics. What works in Odisha may not resonate elsewhere without understanding regional practices, supply chains, and cultural nuances.
With that in mind, our focus is to first concentrate on the following areas: *Establish proof of concept with measurable impact data *Refine operational processes and support mechanisms *Build replicable models for diverse MSE categories *Create technology platforms scalable to other geographies *Document learnings and best practices. Then we will slowly expand to our neighboring states – Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Jharkhand – from where many stakeholders are already showing interest.
In essence, the BhaMa Model scales not by centralizing control, but by replicating the principles – cluster efficiency, market alignment, value addition, and producer ownership – while tailoring execution to each locale. We are hopeful that our experiment in Odisha will serve as a blueprint for other states.
From a macroeconomic lens, how large is the untapped opportunity within Odisha’s MSME sector, and which structural gaps are BhaMa and MSE Bazaar focused on addressing to unlock this potential?
Bhaskar: India’s MSME sector contributes 30.1% of INR 200 billion national GDP and accounts for 35.4% of manufacturing output. In Odisha, over 20.9 lakh MSMEs have been registered, out of which approximately 1.5 lakh MSEs require immediate intervention and support mechanisms. As already covered in other answers, we are targeting to address the three structural gaps: (1) lack of systematic impediment analysis at the enterprise level, (2) absence of fair pricing mechanisms and sustainable market linkages, and (3) insufficient access to integrated service networks that enable long-term viability.
Our additional research shows that the average annual income of the above-mentioned MSEs in Odisha is only ₹85,000, resulting in INR 1275 crores GDP contribution, taking a sample size of 150,000 MSEs. Through systematic gap analysis and timely deployment of support tools, income augmentation to ₹130,000 per MSE is achievable. This 60% increase across 1.5 lakh MSEs translates to a gross GDP growth contribution of ₹750 crore (₹2000 crore GDP) to the Odisha economy per year, a substantial and measurable impact on regional and national economic development.
Beyond BhaMa and MSE Bazaar, what ecosystem are you putting in place to make your dual strategy successful?
Bhaskar: Success requires coordinated engagement across multiple levels, so we are actively building an ecosystem that brings together key stakeholders, including government bodies like district administrations, block development officers, and MSME departments; financial institutions such as banks, NBFCs, and microfinance organizations; market players including buyers, aggregators, processors, and exporters; service providers like technology platforms, logistics partners, and quality certification agencies; and civil society organizations such as FPOs, PGFs, NGOs, and community-based groups.
To ensure seamless coordination, we are also developing an internal dashboard that maps stakeholders and maintains up-to-date contact information, enabling timely interventions across all touchpoints.
Recently, the team celebrated an Appreciation Day. How was the event, and are there any memorable moments you’d like to share?
Manorama: The Appreciation Day was truly special. A warm gathering of team members, MSEs, strategic partners, customers, friends, and well-wishers coming together to share experiences, challenges, learnings, and feedback in an open, casual setting. Held at Mayfair Convention, Bhubaneswar, on February 18th, 2026, it was a celebration of connection, collaboration, and shared purpose. We truly hope this becomes a recurring annual event, one that not only celebrates everyone’s hard work but also inspires a shared sense of purpose and goals to strive for.
One moment that stayed with both of us was when a few tribal entrepreneurs described attending a conference and seeing the inside of a large building for the very first time. Their wonder and excitement reminded us that our work goes beyond improving economic status – it is also about nurturing confidence, dignity, and a sense of identity. Moments like these make the journey profoundly meaningful.
If we look ahead ten years, what does “Success” look like for this partnership? Is it a certain number of outlets, or a fundamental change in how the global market perceives the Odisha rural and tribal economy?
Bhaskar: Ten years from now, success isn’t just several outlets – it’s a shift in mindset and market perception. On the ground, it means thousands of rural and tribal entrepreneurs who are self-reliant and market-savvy, building sustainable, surplus-driven livelihoods. At the ecosystem level, it’s a meaningful contribution of this sector to Odisha’s GDP – moving from the margins to a recognized economic force.
Success lies in creating lasting structures – clusters, market linkages, and mindset shifts that continue to generate value. As founders, we also hope MSE Bazaar evolves into a public company with MSEs as shareholders. Personally, I dream of 5,000 tribal women entrepreneurs ringing the bell at the Bombay Stock Exchange – a symbol of true inclusion and ownership.
Transitioning from established professional careers into the unpredictability of a social trust is a significant shift. What serves as the internal compass for both of you when the path from “concept to community impact” gets difficult?
Manorama: The shift from structured careers to the uncertainty of a social trust does test you but our compass has remained simple and steady. As co-founders, each of us brought a core principle: I was driven by sustainable livelihood impact, my husband Bhaskar Panigrahi emphasized scale for measurable change, and our dear friend Mahesh Navani believed in a circular economy for long-term sustainability. Over time, we realized that all three are essential, and together, they define our shared aspiration to give back to our motherland.
Field realities don’t allow us the luxury of losing direction. They constantly bring us back to our clarity of purpose – why we started. What sustains us is the shared conviction among us; when one of us wavers, the others hold steady. Change at this level is slow, but even small, visible outcomes – a producer earning a better price or a group finding consistent market access – reaffirm that we are on the right path. Over time, we’ve also learned to embrace ambiguity rather than resist it. The journey from concept to impact is rarely linear.
We draw strength from the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita – if the intent is clear and the work is honest, the path reveals itself. We are happy to have a dedicated and experienced CEO, Mr. Prashant Kumar Sahu, to execute our vision. Together, our compass is not certainty – it is purpose, people, and persistence!
