Day-1 Sales Of Rs 22 To Rs 5 Cr Profit – IIM Topper Sold Vegetables To Create A Multicrore Social Enterprise

The concept of good qualification was ruled by an engineering degree in the ’80s and ’90s, but an MBA became a mandatory scholastic accomplishment for the students in the ‘2000s. An MBA, that too from an institution like the Indian Institute Of Management, Ahmedabad(IIM-A) is considered as the greatest feathers in one’s cap when it comes to placements. Imagine a Gold Medalist from Indian Institute Of Management, who would otherwise attract the best of the multinational companies and grab a weighty package, decides to be a job creator and starts selling vegetables. Don’t believe it?! Patna’s Kaushaledra makes you believe!

Hailing from a middle-class family based in village Muhammadpur of the Nalanda district of Bihar, Kaulshalendra was a scholar student who got admission to a special school. The school offered free education and other utilities like clothes, stay, and food, to scholar students. He wanted to pursue B.Tech from IIT but things did not work in his favor and he got admission to the Junagarh Agriculture Engineering University. During his B. Tech course at his university, Kaushalendra realized that people in cities live a better life than villages. He decided that he will pursue a profession that will enable him to use his knowledge and skills for the people from villages. 

After finishing his B. Tech, Kaushaledra worked with a firm manufacturing irrigation equipment. This job earned him some money and a good experience. Kaushalendra wanted to further enhance his skills and cleared the CAT(Common Admission Test) to take admission in IIM(Indian Institute Of Management). He completed his management studies from IIM-A(Indian Institute Of Management, Ahmedabad) with a gold medal. But, unlike an ideal case, Kaushaledra decided not to take up a job and become a self-employed person – he returned to his village.

In the year 2007, Kaushaledra, along with his brother, started the ‘Kaushalya Foundation’. It was an attempt to build an efficient channel between the vegetable farmers and the end consumers. The journey was not easy for Kaushaledra due to lack of funds – people also made it difficult for him by making a mockery of his joblessness despite having top degrees. Kaushaledra kept his calm and continued his endeavor – he launched the ‘Samridhdhi Scheme’ for farmers which became a hit amongst farmers. Kaushalya Foundations soon built a network of 20000 farmers and 700 employees. 

Kaushalya Foundation developed a special refrigerated-cart that can carry up to 200 kgs of vegetables and preserve them for 5-6 days. The employees of the Kaushalya Foundation collect vegetables from the farmers and give them to the vendors who then sell it door to door in various districts of Bihar. By 2013, Kaushaledra created a massive impact through his foundation. The activity started with a first-day revenue of Rs 22 reached a profit of 5 cr. 

Despite having fancy degrees and enormous opportunities, Kaushaledra preferred becoming a self -employed person and created opportunities for other disadvantaged people. His work is not just an example of generosity and social entrepreneurship, but also courage – courage to attain success by taking atypical decisions. 

2020 Update

Kaushalya Foundation has a presence in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Nearly 50000 farmers are associated with this mission which is appreciated by numerous organizations. The foundation is working with numerous banks and organizations that include international entities like Yale University and Google. The foundation has bagged countless awards of national and international repute for their work.

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