This IIM-A grad is in for some idli making
By Ruchi Shrimali
Mr. E Sarath Babu has joined the league of IIM and Harvard graduates who chose to consciously venture into the fields that are traditionally thought to be reserved for illiterate and poor people. An IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A) graduate, he makes idlis. One among the three youths invited by the World Bank for the Global Youth Conference 2012, Mr. Babu narrated how he turned around his life and the life of his family and many others by starting his own catering business.
Born and brought up in a slum in a Chennai suburb, Sarath has four siblings. His mother used to make idlis and he used to sell them before going to school. After graduating from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Sarath decided to do something to create jobs for other people and eradicate hunger and poverty in the third world countries.
Apart from setting up a business, he also started Hunger Free India Foundation in 2010 that celebrates 10th October as the Hunger Free Day every year. Till now, about 8 lakh people have benefited through the foundation. Know more about Sarath and his achievements
Another IIM-A graduate, Mr. Kaushalendra, from Nalanda, came into limelight when he chose to sell vegetables. He has founded a cooperative for farmers called ‘Samriddhi' which sells vegetables in ice-cooled pushcarts. The vegetables are reasonably priced, taste garden-fresh, and are weighed electronically. The vegetable vendors associated with him even give out cash memos to their customers. He dreams of making Bihar a big brand in horticulture.
Mr. Amuleek Singh Bijral, a Harvard graduate, chose to be a ‘chai wallah'. He is the founder of Mountain Trail Foods that runs ‘Chai Point', a chain of F&B outlets in Bangalore. The idea is simple. His aim is to offer high quality and tasty tea to his customers in a hygienic environment. But his decision is based on research and facts and his outlets are strategically located near offices, transportation hubs, hospitals and colleges. Know more about Chai Point
It seems that more and more management graduates now are opting to become entrepreneurs and be the change in the system.
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