Kirana Charzer is turning neighborhood stores across India into affordable EV charging points, tackling the country's biggest obstacle to electric vehicle adoption with a surprisingly simple idea.
The Indian government has set an ambitious vision: all-electric vehicles on the roads by 2030. Electric vehicle adoption is slowly gaining momentum in India, with major auto brands like Tata, Kia, and MG Motors launching their EVs into a market hungry for cleaner transport options. But building out charging stations across a country of 1.4 billion people requires a different approach entirely. Setting up charging stations across the country has to be a substantial step to be taken to achieve the 2030 mission.
Kirana Charzer, a startup barely one year old, has set out to fundamentally change the charging infrastructure in the country. It introduces a simple plan: turning your neighbourhood kirana store, restaurant, or even office into a charging station. Rather than waiting for massive charging networks to be built from scratch, the company is tapping into the thousands of small retail outlets that already exist on virtually every street corner in urban and semi-urban India.
Sameer Ranjan Jaiswal, co-founder of the startup, has said that their aim is to have one charging station on every street of every city. It is a bold target, but one that makes sense when you consider the sheer density of kirana stores across Indian towns and cities. Jaiswal already runs an EV-fleet management startup along with two partners, Dheeraj Reddy and Yugraj Shuklaand. They have also worked with the government on EV policy consultations, giving them a clear understanding of both the regulatory landscape and the practical challenges on the ground.
The startup was launched in February this year and already has over 2,000 orders, and 520 of them are from kirana stores. That kind of early traction from small shop owners suggests the model resonates with people who see a tangible benefit in becoming part of the EV ecosystem without needing significant capital investment.
Right now the startup does not have in-house manufacturing capabilities. Up to now the designs are built and manufacturing has been outsourced to reliable partners. While the focus is currently on two and three-wheelers, which dominate the Indian EV market, the charger is compatible with cars, scooters, and three-wheelers. This flexibility matters because India's EV transition is being driven largely by two-wheelers and three-wheelers used for daily commuting and last-mile delivery.
Jaiswal explains, "We made the design ourselves keeping India's infrastructure in mind. Currently, we don't have a charging station that is designed for India, and we also realised that we have to keep the cost low so that store owners can afford it." The approach reflects a practical understanding of the market. Imported charging hardware designed for Western or Chinese infrastructure rarely suits Indian conditions, where dust, heat, and inconsistent power supply demand more rugged solutions.
The charging hardware has a cost of just ₹10,000, making it accessible to small business owners who would never consider investing in more expensive charging equipment. All payments are processed through the Charzer app after installation. They have an 80-20 revenue share model that ensures store owners earn from every charging session while the company handles the technology and payment infrastructure. For a kirana store owner, this represents a genuine new revenue stream with minimal effort.
The app is a one-stop-shop for all EV charging needs. The app will have the list of all the charging stations, and any EV owner can just go through the list to find the nearest charging station. This network effect is critical. As more stores sign up, the app becomes more useful to drivers, which in turn drives more business to participating stores. The model essentially crowdsources the charging network, turning a capital-intensive infrastructure problem into a distributed, community-driven solution that can scale organically.
