TRANSCRIPT: Cow tech to transform lives with Param Singh

TRANSCRIPT FOR Cow tech to transform lives with Param Singh, released Monday 21 August 2023:

(MUSIC BED)

PARAM SINGH, FOUNDER AND CEO OF MOOOFARM:

I mean, I can’t wait for the next morning, every time I go to bed, I can’t wait for the next morning because I’m so excited for the work to start!

We both were training these women and every day they had to go back. And we said, we want to train you, we want to help you, and every day they said no we need to look after our cow, we need to water the cow, we need to feed the cow.

At MooFarm we work with over a million farmers to help farmers increase their milk quality, milk quantity. Thereby hopefully helping them with their livelihood.

I grew up on a farm but I never knew, how many cows in India!

MARY BOLLING, HOST:

What’s the first step to changing the world?

Is it getting shoved out of your comfort zone?

Or getting skills in a field that you’re passionate about… even though you’re not sure how you’ll use them?

Or perhaps it happens when everything you’ve learned lets you look at an old problem - in a new way?

I’m Mary Bolling and this is CQUniversity’s How to Change a Life.

And today, how a farm kid from rural India followed his tech smarts to accidental entrepreneurship…

… and how cows and apps shape his very deliberate mission to transform lives for millions more Indian families.

In the spirit of reconciliation, CQUniversity recognises this episode was recorded and produced on the Traditional Lands of the   Whadjuk Nyoongar People in Perth, and the Wurrundjeri people of the Kulin nation in Melbourne.

We pay respects to Elders past and present, and their life-changing connection to country and culture.

PS: 

I’m Param, I’m the founder and CEO of MooFarm.

At MooFarm we work with over a million farmers to help farmers increase their milk quality, milk quantity. Thereby hopefully helping them with their livelihood.

Apart from this I’m also the founder at Tech For Good, which is a charity, or like my weekend work that I do, where I encourage young girls to use technology to give better livelihoods.

MB: 

That’s some pretty big work for Param now… But growing up on a farm in the tiny community of Sangrai in India’s Punjab State, “big” is not a word he’d use to describe life. He’d say something more like…

PS: 

Simple! (laughing) To be honest, I think I was before I came to Australia, living in a small town in india, didn’t do much to be honest! Yeah it was great.

Australia happened out of luck, my parents said I could go overseas and study, all the world, I could go. Australia happened I think because my friend did much research than me, he’s the one who encouraged to come to Australia.

MB:

Okay, remember that persuasive friend, because he’s coming back... but also, Param remembering him, valuing that bit of encouragement, that’s important too.

So, Param moves to Melbourne in 2003, and takes on his Master of Information Systems at CQUniversity in Melbourne.

PS: 

As an international student at a university campus, you interact with so many different cultures, you are understanding, you empathise, you are working together to solve a problem, and become more compassionate… and in that little group of four to six, who can solve what. 

One thing I really love about Australian education is you can go away and solve a problem, which is not the case especially when you do an undergrad in India. 

it helped me see that I can support a smaller team, maybe four to six people, and I can scale that up.

MB: 

In fact, his problem-solving in assignments… and for his fellow students…  sees Param win the Leadership award when he graduates two years later… 

And he’s loving uni life so much, he doesn’t leave! 

His first job after graduation is as a lab assistant and tutor at a Melbourne uni… but a dramatic career change is looming. 

And once again, it’s that same mate… giving him a push. 

PS: 

To be very honest, when I graduated from Central Queensland University I always wanted to be an academic and research…

All my life, I love academic research, teaching, and I thought that’s the best job I have in life.

It was one of my friends that encouraged me, the same friend actually, why don’t I actually look at a business ,look at entrepreneurship… so it was him who encouraged, and of course he said he would be one of the partners.

Once we started an entrepreneurship journey, it’s so difficult to go back. It was tech and education, and it was a huge success. I ran that for about eight years, then sold to a publicly listed company in Australia.

MB: 

The Cantillon Institute, which Param establishes in Perth, begins as an tech-savvy education provider in 2007.. 

The booming business earns Param the Australia-India Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2013, and in September 2014, he sells to ASX-listed Ashley Services Group.

And in between, Param realises his potential as an entrepreneur… and realises something else, too.  

PS: 

When I started my education business, then the money started to follow. Then you start to see your heart, is this what you want in life, or do you want something more? And I should put my skills and experience to something where I can help.

MB:

Those are big questions. And luckily, Param’s love of learning means he knows how to find answers.

He applies for a scholarship to Stanford University in the United States, and in 2014 completes their Executive Program in Social Entrepreneurship.  

Param wants to narrow down the type of problem he wants to solve… but actually, the study gives him a big answer.

PS: 

One thing that also contributed was my studies at Stanford University, and one thing they said was think big, go for large, don’t just change a tyre, solve for large and scale. 
Technology skills are so important, research, and ability to see, you have to have a lot of research and see if you can join the dots. Even today I set aside 30 to 60 minutes to read, and see if I can connect the dots to know more about the future, I would think it’s very critical.

MB: 

So, wearing the hats of entrepreneur, researcher, and tech innovator, Param goes back to India... looking for a big problem to solve. 

PS: 

I think it was 2018 when I joined a not-for-profit there as a volunteer, so post selling my company in Austalia, I went and ended up working with Dr Kiran Bedi, one of the most respected female working in India, training them on entrepreneurship, how they can build up. And then I realised, everyone had a cow! I met my co-founder, we both were training these women. And they said no we have to look after our cow. We want to help you right, and they were like no, we water the cow, we feed the cow, the vet is not available. If this is so important for them in their day to day activity, we must look at this dairy sector. And we were surprised to see how large the sector is, 80 million farms engaged in the dairy sector. And women do about 80 to 90 per cent of the work in the livestock in India. And so ticking all the boxes, large opportunities, large number of farms, affecting the women in India. If this is so big, why don’t we look at this as an opportunity, as a problem to solve at a large scale.

MB: 

 In 2019, there are 192 million head of cattle in India… so yep, Param is definitely onto an issue that will scale. 

But once more, he doesn’t start big… instead, he and his MoooFarm co-founder Aashna Singh begin building their ideas in the homes of small-scale dairy farmers.

PS:  

So everyone we went to their house, and we met their families, we understood the problems they were going through. And one of the simple things, we connect them on a mobile phone with a veterinary. Also they can actually sell cows amongst each other. I remember a woman, she was able to sell a cow for more than $400 more than if she had sold in the village to a broker. They’re not mobile, someone will come to their house and say, if you want to sell this cow, $500, and you can imagine how much more income she’s able to earn. If you can do that for one person, nearly $400, if millions how much impact you can do with them. 

MB:

This human-centred design approach is key to how Param and his team grow MoooFarm. 

And his tech expertise, from his CQU studies, is also vital.

PS:

Doing a program at CQU, especially my Masters about information systems, technology is so important and helps you look at things logically. I’ve realised you can be a tech leader, without a tech background, but it definitely helps… especially in the room with the brilliant techies, and then asking, is it possible to think of a different way to solve, how about this? And when you ask a question, how about this, a lot of things change in the room.

MB:
Since launching in 2019, the MoooFarm app is used by 1.8 million dairy farmers across India. 

The social enterprise also raises startup capital, most recently earning $13 million US, in a Series A round at the end of 2022.

Bringing in that kind of support needs a big network… 

… and growing that network, Param taps into the same feeling he had as a 19-year-old moving to a new city. It’s all about making friends.  

PS: 

I think one thing that changed for me, I’ve started to realise: I feel like work and personal life should not be put into a square box and a rectangular box… what I mean by that, is a lot of my friends come from my work. We are so great friends, all of us, every single person. Same, every conference I go, and everywhere around this world, one or two persons I meet end up being my friends. We still put work first, but then we still become great friends. That has changed, I’m not only looking for friends from my past life, but also from my work I make great friends.

MB: 

It’s a heart-warming way to do business! And among those friends around the globe… there’s the Perth-based entrepreneurs behind graphic design startup Canva.

That’s who Param calls up when COVID-19 hits in 2020… and he sees how the pandemic is worsening disadvantage for rural women. 

PS:

The founders at Canva are great examples for everyone, the kind of empathy and compassion they bring. When I am running MoooFarm, I usually go to rural parts, and speak to woman, and usually they’ll have a young girl. And how do you help these young girls if maybe they don’t want to stay in the family dairy. Because of COVID, thought why don’t we give them tech skills? Canva and Tech for Good together trained 13,000 girls, brought trainers from across the country… and then that relationship ended up with Canva founders investing in MoooFarm in the last round, too!

MB: 

While Param’s work is already connecting with millions of people across India… he isn’t content to stop there. 

And it’s those women dairy farmers he first met so many years ago… and memories of the women in his own family… that keep him striving for more. 

PS: 

Even though the company started with the whole idea, this will change the lives of women, men continue to be the main users. So if we have failed in the past three years, woman are using the application less than two per cent. So how do we change that? There’s one smart phone in the household, and male member of the family will have that for most of the day, and then a son will have that to watch TikTok or play on the mobile. How do you bring that piece of tech in the hand of woman? Is one area I think we’re trying to see.

In my family I think I was very fortunate, women had a lot of strength. I see my grandmother was very empowered. Education was always a priority, so it came to my father, and it was always encouraged to go out and get a degree. So it’s important when women have more say, the children will have a better education.

MB: 

MoooFarm now employs more than 50 people… and through small fees charged on its marketplace platform, in 2022 it reportedly raises nearly $10 million Australian in revenue. 

But Param says measuring success is about impact – not cash – and that applies to MooFarm, and to life. 

PS:

You have to be very honest to your own self – what really motivates you. I mean, I can’t wait for the next morning, every time I go to bed, I can’t wait for the next morning because I’m so excited for the work to start! And I’m not a workaholic. But see what inspires you, and the money will follow.

MB:

Param Singh there… reminding us if you love what you do… you’ll still work hard, but you won’t regret it!

Last year… Mooofarm won the Dairy Innovation award in the socio-economic category at the World Dairy Summit… and the life-changing company continues to grow.

And for all his transformative work, on the hugest scale, Param is CQUniversity’s 2023 Alumnus of the Year for Social Impact.

(MUSIC BED)

CQUniversity’s practical and career-focused courses can grow your skills and connections. 

Head to cqu.edu.au/study to learn more… 

… and to discover CQU’s commitment to social impact, as Australia’s only social enterprise university, visit cqu.edu.au/changemaker. 

You’ve been listening to How to Change a Life by CQUniversity Podcasts. Theme music is WINGS by CQUniversity alumnus Tristan Barton – check out more of his work at tristanbartonmusic.com

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This is the final episode in this series of How to Change a Life, sharing the stories of CQU’s Alumni of the Year for 2023. 

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