About Us

The Organisation

Sayas is a consumer owned and consumer governed platform cooperative, challenging market exploitation through technology driven collective procurement of services. Sayas engages with service providers such as Insurance companies, Financial institutions, DTH service providers and Mobile communications companies, etc. on behalf of its members to make quality services available at fair prices.

Sayas cooperative is built around the idea of shared efforts towards sustainable development of society. Sayas cooperative prides itself on being one of the first platform cooperatives in India. Sayas aims to build an unique platform to bring together people who believe in the power of cooperation along with equity, equality, solidarity and social justice. Sayas places its members at the heart of the organisation.

What makes us different?

In addition to being one of the first technology based cooperatives in India, Sayas is a trailblazer in many areas such as follows:

  • A platform accessible from anywhere and anytime through mobile app & website.
  • 100% benefits for the members and 0% profit for the organisation
  • Collective control over distribution chain for products and services, alleviating brokerages along chain.
  • Online democratic decision-making by its members.
  • Complete financial transparency to its members through online financial reporting.
  • Engagements with multiple service providers and product manufacturers to assure quality and fair prices.
  • Sustainable development through uniting, training and empowering people.

What are our strengths?

  • Products and services catered towards the needs of members.
  • Entrenched beliefs and adherence to established co-operative principles and values.
  • Involved and informed members committed to success of organisation and its members.
  • Services and products at fair price that investor-owned businesses can’t beat.
  • Experienced management team with proven expertise in strategic thinking, business planning and execution

The Drivers

Vision

To empower people to create sustainable development for themselves as well as their future generations

Mission

To act together to build a better world through cooperation

Aims

To reduce the exploitation of common people in the market system with the help technology and union of cooperatives

Objectives

To develop different platform cooperative systems which will provide quality products as well as services to its members at fair price e.g. Insurance, Loan Services, Health Services, Transportation Service, etc.

To eradicate the exploitation of consumers prevailing in the market system

To empower member consumers to reclaim the control over the market system

Principles & Values

International Co-operative Alliance is global steward of the Statement on the Cooperative Identity – the Values and Principles of the cooperative movement.

In 1995, ICA adopted revised Statement on Cooperative Identity which contains definition of a cooperative, values of cooperatives, and seven cooperative principles as below.

Principles

We are open to all people to use our platform and willing to accept responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination

Our members are actively participating in setting policies and making decisions. Men and women serving as elected representatives are accountable to members. Our members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote) and all levels are also organised in a democratic manner.

Our members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital.Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing the cooperative, by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative; and supporting other activities approved by the members.

We are autonomous, self-help organisation controlled by our members. When we enter into agreements with other organisations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, we do so on terms which ensure democratic control by members and maintain their cooperative autonomy.

We are autonomous, self-help organisation controlled by our members. When we enter into agreements with other organisations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, we do so on terms which ensure democratic control by members and maintain their cooperative autonomy.

We serve our members effectively and strengthen cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.

We work towards sustainable development of communities through policies approved by our members.

Values

Sayas cooperative is constituted on values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity. Along with our founders, our members also believe in ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.

Business Model

The Organisation 1

Members are our biggest asset. Our business model is built around our members. All negotiations with service providers and product manufacturers are based on scale i.e. no. of people who will benefit from the products and services. Larger the membership base, greater the negotiating power and in turn better price and quality of products and service.

Once we achieve the critical mass of memberships, we are planning to tie up with product manufacturers and service providers and negotiate with them to make products and services available to members with better quality and at fair price.

Partnering with Product and Service Providers

During this phase, our expert teams collect information about specific service industry, its producers, providers and business dynamics, etc. The team takes help of industry experts if required. After in depth analysis, they come up with the business model which will be win-win for both consumers as well as service providers. The team negotiates terms and conditions, price and quality of service and products with them. The provider which offers the best product or service at fair price will become partner with Sayas and will provide the product or service to our members.

Product & Service Offerings

Customised products and service packages offered by product and service providers are listed on Sayas online platform. Interested members fill up the application form and apply for specific product or service.

  • Sayas reviews applications and hand over approved applications to product or service provider.
  • The provider then processes the application.
  • In case of successful application, the provider collects the payment from the applicant and completes the application.
  • 25% of the amount which is saved by the member through Sayas is transferred to Sayas either by product/service provider or member as predefined. This amount is considered as the contribution by the member towards the share capital and it gets added to respective member’s share capital.

Our Management Team

The Organisation 2

Rajendra Jagdale

Exec. Director | Co-op Development

Rajendra is Director of Sayas and is responsible for Strategy and Business Development for Sayas. Rajendra is a Director General of Science and Technology Park, Pune. He is a trainer in Entrepreneurship and mentor for several start-up companies and works closely with DST’s Technology Business Incubation.

The Organisation 3

Shital Jagtap

Exec. Director | Strategy & Media

Shital is founding member of Sayas & is responsible for development and implementation of the cooperative’s strategic objectives and processes. She manages the media and technology department. Shital has pursued Master’s degree in Finance & Management and Media & Communication.

The Organisation 4

Arvind Shrouti

Exec. Director | Co-op Development

Arvind is founding member of Sayas & is responsible for building Sayas community by engaging with unions & organisations. He is consultant to Unions and Managements in the field Employee Compensation, Work Measurement, Collective Bargaining, Financial Management, etc.