Goats, new cash cows

Entrepreneurs see business in goats’ low investment and high fertility rate

An advertisement in a national newspaper invited investors: “Get 2% assured returns plus double your investment amount in four years.” The offer was not for investing in gold, silver or equity. The cash cow was goats. Beetal Livestock and Farms Pvt Ltd, a company in Delhi’s suburb, Gurgaon, claimed to run goat farms. It asked investors to invest in goats that it would rear.

When this reporter, posing as an investor, visited the company’s office, it offered several other plans for investment on goats, all offering over 100 per cent profit. The company even promised insurance for the goats, each costing Rs 6,000, and bank security on the investment. It claimed it has over 200 investors. How can it promise such an impressive return? Ashish Jhamsar, one of the sales managers, explained the business model: “Each goat gives birth to four kids every year. We sell these new goats to other investors like you. Thus, from each goat, we make a profit four times of its original value in the first year. Next year, each of those four goats will give birth to four kids and our profit becomes 20 times. The profit keeps multiplying.”

The company started in 2008. Initially, it offered 8-10 per cent monthly return. Ragini Chandra (name changed on request), invested Rs 1.2 lakh on goats with the company in April this year. She was promised Rs 10,080 return per month for three years. She got the returns only for May and June. “The cheques for July and August bounced,” Chandra said. Jhamsar said this happened because the company’s bank account was frozen because of “some issue” with the documents. “We have sorted it out. We will distribute all due cheques,” he added. Chandra is not convinced. “They’ve been saying this for two months,” she said.