WayCool Foods, India’s fastest growing agri-commerce company, unveiled their association with IFMR Graduate School of Business (IFMR GSB), at Krea University to kick-start their leadership development programme, christened as LEAP (Learn Emerge Accelerate Progress).

It will be a one-of-its-kind programme, which will not only enable the creation of future leaders but also drive business and people leadership capabilities in the uncharted agri-commerce space. A select few who have come through a rigorous and neutral assessment process, have earned the opportunity to take up this unique programme that is slated to be path-breaking with the potential to drive the future direction of the agri-commerce industry.

It is designed to build the leadership pipeline within the company. It will handle development in three distinct streams, academic, on-the-job, and mentorship. The academic stream will be led by renowned academicians and faculty from IFMR GSB at Krea University. Uniquely curated, it will be a one-year industry relevant certification programme consisting of academic content, engagement with other industry experts as part of the academic programme, and hands-on experience with different departments within the company, handling banner projects.

These projects, which are growth oriented, will have an impact on critical business parameters of each division within the company. The mentorship stream of the programme will be under the direct guidance of the company’s leadership team who have established themselves as pioneers in the agri-commerce space.

Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, vice chancellor of professional learning at Krea University, said, “We are pleased to partner with WayCool, a pioneer in the technology-led, agri-commerce industry committed to re-imagining India’s food supply chain. Working closely with the practicing leaders at WayCool, the highly-experienced IFMR GSB faculty members have curated a unique program that addresses the specific needs of the emerging leaders in the agri-commerce sector. The program will be delivered using multi-modal learning (online and on-premise) coupled with experiential learning through the application of concepts on the job, working closely with managers and mentors at WayCool.

Speaking on the tie-up, Lakshmipriya Somasundaram, head- human resources operations, Waycool Foods, said, “We have invested in massive capacity building over the last 6 years. On the Capability front, we have doubled our human resource strength in the last one year to 2000. As we continue to expand our reach and operations, talent needs too shall continue to grow. Agri-commerce, unlike any other sector, is very complex and demands specific skill sets and capabilities. With this partnership with KREA, we aim to not just breed future leaders for WayCool alone, but, for the industry as a whole.”