Activity Description: With three quarters of its national population living in rural areas, access to primary healthcare is one of the most pressing issues facing India’s businesses and policymakers. Further complicating this picture is the fact that the government has so far had difficulty making a sufficient financial commitment to fund free, needs-based health services. Although currently on the rise, this spending only accounts for less than one percent of the gross domestic product. Private healthcare groups have also been unable to fill this gap in a country where nearly a third of the populaiton lives in poverty. The entrepreneurs behind Gram Mooligai found a unique opportunity within this seemingly insurmountable challenge to deliver much needed health services to India’s rural poor while tapping into new markets underserved by public and private actors alike.

Gram Mooligai was originally created as an off-shoot of a successful NGO rural healthcare project, entering the private-sector to expand its operations in harvesting local medicinal plants. The company is owned by a network of rural growers that manufacture a variety of herbal remedies including Trigul balm for joint pain, Sugam cough syrup and Jwaracin, a fever reducer. Gram Mooligai's unique competitive advantage is its synthesis of modern healthcare systems with local remedies familiar to rural households. The company sources its products from India's strong heritage of traditional healing methods and its rich biodiversity, with over 18,000 known species of plants. It establishes a loyal customer base by drawing on the Ayurvedic system of healing, a set of practices that are trusted by Gram Mooligai’s target market because of their deep roots in Indian culture and use of well-known herbal medicines.

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