Training for Success
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Training for success An Indian train odyssey is equipping young entrepreneurs with the skills to succeed in social Jagriti Yatra: the fast track to success for business, says Charukesi Ramadurai. social enterprises? When Delhi-born Ashmeet Kapoor, 28, All mentors must have been running a commercially I Say Organic; the produce is sourced from farmers training among the aspiring social entrepreneurs, returned to India after seven years in the viable social enterprises for a minimum of 10 years in five surrounding states, connecting them directly given that most do not come from business US, he knew that he wanted to start a social to be selected for the scheme. to markets. Kapoor received Rs.10 million (roughly backgrounds. “A sleek PowerPoint presentation venture based around energy or agriculture. The Jagriti Yatra team argues that social £98,100) from his family to start the business, or Excel spreadsheets with fancy business plans However, this electrical engineer, with a master’s enterprise is the key to long-term sustainable which now employees 20 people. The absence of have very limited value if the entrepreneur has not “OVER 225 degree in entrepreneurship from Brown University, development in India. This is borne out by a recent middle-men has allowed him to pay farmers 25% actually got their hands dirty”, she adds. YATRIS HAVE an Ivy League institution, was also aware of his report by WWF, ‘Green Game-changers’, which more than market rates for their produce, and he Aditi Prakash certainly takes a hands-on STARTED THEIR own ignorance about rural India, having only claims that small business and social enterprises in is now in conversation with external investors, approach to her business: she makes designer OWN SOCIAL “ experienced it from a distance. India and other parts of Asia are tackling local and promising a five-fold growth of the business. handbags from traditional Indian textiles that have ENTERPRISE To remedy this he went on a 15-day, 8,000km international challenges in a variety of innovative Extended placements like the one Kapoor been largely forgotten by modern generations. train journey across India – the Jagriti Yatra, ways, sending “ripples across the globe”. In benefited from are just one of the ways Jagriti As Prakash began experimenting with her bags, meaning ‘Journey of Awareness’. For the past five particular, many entrepreneurs are embracing Yatra provides follow up support. During last year’s a friend participating in a trade fair in New Delhi years, this project has been taking 400-450 young a concept known as, “Jugaad”, – the creation journey, participants were asked to form teams and suggested sharing a stall. With the help of a local people, chosen from thousands of applicants, to of innovative solutions to problems using fewer present business ideas; 15 of these teams were tailor she managed to make 100 bags, which sold 12 destinations in India. On the journey, these yatris resources [see ‘Frugal plenty’ in the Green Futures then selected and called for a follow-up meeting exceedingly well. Prakash now works with three (translated as ‘travellers’) meet successful social special edition India: innovation nation, p4]. session called Biz Gyan Tree (meaning the ‘Tree of skilled tailors and provides livelihood to dozens entrepreneurs, in order to learn techniques which However, no matter how frugal they are, Business Knowledge’) in February. Here, mentors of women from the village. Over 400 Pure Ghee they can apply to their own business ideas. The in the absence of mentorship and guidance helped the teams to refine their business ideas, handbags, each of them entirely handmade, are role models come from a variety of backgrounds: many small businesses struggle to get off the trained them in formal business plan writing and sold across the country every month. Anshu Gupta of Goonj in New Delhi, for instance, ground. Byzantine bureaucracy, corruption and provided leads for financial investment. Prakash’s most recent collection of bags, called works with clothing for the underprivileged, while infrastructural challenges can all take their toll on Ben Kellard, Head of Sustainable Business at Allika (‘weaving’ in the local language), was made Yatris on the Dr. S. Aravind of Aravind Eye Care in Coimbatore fledgling operations. In fact, India ranks among the Forum for the Future, says social enterprises need by weavers in the south Indian state of Andhra learning journey provides quick turn-around, low-cost eye surgeries. world’s worst countries in terms of encouraging a wide range of skills and knowledge in order to Pradesh. The bags are made solely from organic entrepreneurs: 166th out of 183 countries, according be successful, from the kind of business planning cotton and organic dyes like indigo, and are one to World Bank figures from 2011. A poll conducted advice that Biz Gyan Tree offers, to guidance of Prakash’s bestselling ranges. Another collection by Gallup in 2012 seems to bear this out: nearly in understanding consumer needs. “They also called Mashru – meaning ‘permitted’ in Arabic – half of the 5,000 Indian adults surveyed said that need to learn rapidly in order to refine their offer uses a fabric popular among the Muslim community the Government was a significant stumbling block and business model to ensure it meets the need of Gujarat. Since the religion forbids them from to starting a business, while only 37% of current and makes money”, he adds. “The Jagriti Yatra letting their skin touch anything made from animals, business owners and 28% of those seeking to start project is a great example of how to help social the fabric is glossy silk on the outside and cotton a business said that they knew someone who can entrepreneurs gain these skills and apply them, on the inside. offer advice about business management. setting them up for success.” Prakash, a graduate from the National Institute This is where a project like Jagriti Yatra can In the last five years, over 225 yatris have started of Design in Ahmedabad, is also passionate about make a difference. It helps young entrepreneurs to their own social enterprise, and roughly half of them recycling and makes it work for her commercially. identify market needs and make business plans, are already established in small towns and villages. “In the name of recycling, people make and sell and offers insights into the challenges of starting “By taking a national perspective, the ‘travellers’ things which look dull and are poorly finished”, a social enterprise and the skills needed to keep it will get insights into how they could grow their she says. “When I cut the cloth for my bags, my economically sound. This process often continues enterprises beyond their state borders”, says Kellard. women sort through the bigger pieces and create long after the train journey has been completed. Rema Subramanian, partner with Ankur Capital, a colourful patchwork out of it.” These limited In Kapoor’s case, Jagriti Yatra set him up to spend an angel fund that invests in social enterprises, edition bags – the Tutti Frutti collection – have also six months at Deoria, a village in Uttar Pradesh, including Daily Dump [also featured in India: proved popular with her customers. “However,” she where he leased land and interacted with farmers to innovation nation, p7] is also enthusiastic about the adds, “I would never cut out cloth just to make a understand their lives and their problems. scheme: “Most of us lead cocooned lives with our patchwork bag.” This led to the creation of Jagriti Agro Tech version of problems and solutions. A journey like In Bangalore, the Information Technology (note the homage in the name), which supplies this opens up our minds to the realities out there.” capital of India, Kuldeep Dantewadia’s organisation, organic fruit and vegetables online under the brand Photos: Jagriti Yatra Photos: Joseph Bastin/iStockphoto/Thinkstock She isn’t worried about a lack of formal business Reap Benefit, works with school and college 30 Green Futures January 2014 www.greenfutures.org.uk www.greenfutures.org.uk Green Futures January 2014 31 children to “make green a habit” from a young not really running a business. But we would come age. The aim is to encourage students to make an back every night and we would have to analyse impact on their immediate environment by reducing the business plans of the enterprise we visited. and managing waste, while using natural resources That gave me an understanding of how successful responsibly. They also help educational institutions entrepreneurs were doing it.” – and increasingly corporates who are taking The journey also gave them an insight into their sustainability aims seriously – to go green. some of the most pressing needs in rural areas of Dantewadia candidly admits that the young people India. “It opened my eyes to the fact that providing Are you passionate about “WE COULD Reap Benefit works with were initially cynical about a livelihood was more the need of the hour than COME BACK their approach because “we were talking about bringing in services to rural areas,” says Kapoor, EVERY NIGHT concepts like global warming that they could “which is why I thought of I Say Organic.” While sustainable development and AND ANALYSE not relate to at a personal level”. However, the Dantewadia claims he “came across so many BUSINESS“ enterprise is clearly doing something right: they new conversations and perspectives about my working towards a career in the sector? PLANS have now worked with over 60 schools as well as country, which I kept thinking over, long after I got numerous corporate clients. off the train. I realised that there was no one right Reap Benefit also designs waste/water approach to development work.” ) management, carbon footprint management There is considerable potential for social and energy optimisation solutions, and helps enterprises in India to foster change, but the organisations with auditing.