Outbreak crisis turned job losers into entrepreneurs in Pune

Pune: While the nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus outbreak left many without jobs and no income, some have turned the adversity into opportunity.

Pune: While the nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus outbreak left many without jobs and no income, some have turned the adversity into opportunity. Filled with the spirit to not give up, they have come up with different ways to sustain this financial bind. Civil engineer-turned- spice master Rahul Nimbalkar and security guard-turned-tea entrepreneur Revan Shinde are two such successful stories.

HT Image

After losing his job as a security guard just before the pandemic hit, 28-year-old Shinde launched his startup to deliver hot fresh tea on people’s doorstep. His venture “Abhimanyu” started with little investment now gives a profit of Rs 55,000- Rs 60,000 per month.

He supplies tea and coffee to corporate offices and industrial workers.

“After losing the job, I knew I had to do something about it. Most of the employees in offices need tea throughout the day. Amid lockdown, when offices were reopening in phases, staff were scared to go to their regular tea stalls because of the fear of virus spread. I filled the gap by bringing hot hygienic tea to them instead.”

Armed with masks, sanitisers, thermos brimming with hot brewed tea, Shinde hit the roads of Pimpri-Chinchwad giving tea to passers-by. He started by supplying tea for free to many offices proving to them that the cuppa was prepared by following all safety measures. He got his clients hooked onto the tea and converted them into regulars. He now has a monthly contract with over 70 offices. According to Shinde, one can order tea by calling him and the hot beverage will be hand delivered within minutes.

Now, five persons work under Shinde.

“I was working with Shinde at his last job as a security guard. After the job loss, I had no way to feed my family. This new opportunity has saved my family from running into debt,” said Shantaram Navgire, 40, who is working with Shinde.

Rahul Nimbalkar, a farmer from Belmachi village in Wai taluka, lost his job as a civil engineer in Pune after the lockdown left him stuck in his village. The 32-year-old started helping his father in turmeric farming. Tired of traders’ arbitrariness, Rahul decided to sell the spice on his own.

“We have been growing turmeric for the last seven years. I would help my father in farming on and off, but never paid attention to the monetary side of the trade. This year, however, I noticed that farmers were extorted by traders and middlemen and they ended up getting less profit for their product. The payments were always late and very low. After taking family into confidence, I decided to start my business,” said Nimbalkar, owner of Anand Halad Powder.

Nimbalkar started supplying packaged turmeric all over the country. Now, he gets inquiries from abroad and has also supplied spices to the United States.

“Social media helped us. We get orders from all over the country through Facebook and WhatsApp. People started sharing about our brand online and that helped us sell around 750kgs of turmeric in the first 100 days of our business,” said Nimbalkar.