Yogesh is a dynamic entrepreneur from Belgaum, Karnataka. He owns a store in Chikodi, from which he runs multiple businesses - a book stall, stationery store, distribution for nine companies, and an online centre. In addition to his thriving businesses, Yogesh's wife contributes to the family's income as a lecturer at the nearby RD Degree College.
Yogesh jokes that he has always been an entrepreneur. Indeed, he started small hustles when he was as young as 12. Those early ventures taught him a lot about selling and understanding customers. Importantly, those experiences ingrained in him the confidence to take on difficult situations without being afraid. This early training helped him successfully start and run his many businesses as an adult.
While he runs several businesses from his shop, he has further ambitions, which go beyond his immediate family.
A community-driven dream project
When the Indian government banned single-use plastic, it negatively affected local establishments such as restaurants. Yogesh got in touch with a company in the city of Pune that supplies machinery to make an alternate, recyclable plastic. He is currently in the process of setting this factory up in his village, which he hopes to start in 5-6 months.
His goal with this project is more than a commercial or ecological one. Through this, he hopes to generate immediate employment for 300 women, and eventually to 5000. "This is social service in a way, and it helps run their households and helps them realize their dreams", he says.
Advice for the next generation of entrepreneurs
His success attracts many who have ideas to start businesses of their own. "When younger generations talk to me about their ideas, I advise them only one thing - if you have the confidence, you can do anything. Trust in your own abilities and you will be successful". Truly the spirit of small-town India's relentless drive for upward mobility.
Like Yogesh's, there are 250 million such Entrepreneurial Households across India. Their demands for core solutions like quality education, healthcare and MSME financing represent a multi-trillion dollar business opportunity for investors and entrepreneurs to participate in their growth.
To read more about the EPIC Opportunity, download the EPIC Opportunity Report.