Meet the SHEROES - Neha Juneja

Neha Juneja is the co-founder and CEO of Greenway Appliances. She has been internationally recognized for her excellence in product design. In addition to the numerous awards she has helped GGI secure. She tell us how she started up and what Greenway Appliances does -

Tell us more about yourself.

I co-founded Greenway Appliances, a start-up that designs, manufactures and markets household appliances. Before this I organized community-led projects and need-analysis consulting in a wide array of areas including agro forestry, primary energy supply, and water access across rural India

What is the inspiration behind starting up Greenway Appliances?

When we first saw first-hand how two-thirds of India cooks, it was quite a shock.  While progress (and at least talking) could be seen in many aspects of rural life, cooking still remained archaic for a variety of reasons. 

It is also surprising as to why this problem was ignored given that it requires a fairly simple technological intervention.  All this was compelling enough for us as a group of engineers to start.

What made you start-up so early?

Right out of business school, along with 3 partners I had started up an online finance venture which unfortunately packed up soon.  Post this, Greenway was launched. 

There was no particular timing of our decision, we just saw an opportunity and decided to pursue it.

Tell us about the Greenway Smart Stove. 

Greenway Smart Stove forms a modern replacement for traditional mud stoves, saving 65% fuel and emitting 70% less smoke, thus enabling healthier, happier kitchens. The stove used a patent pending air-inducing mechanism that ensures optimal combustion and reduction in emissions.  It was developed over one year and 10 design cycles wherein each design was co-created with local communities.

A message to all SHEROES out there. 

I often see that women become apologetic about managing various aspects of life.  This is just plain wrong - we work and we work at home.  It is important to set expectations and state them outright.