Wishes may or may not be horses, but what’s stopping beggars from becoming entrepreneurs ? They may not have money to make ends meet, but why can’t they seek investment instead of alms? These are the sort of seemingly impossible questions that Chandra Mishra has answered convincingly with Beggars Corporation . The backdrop to this story is provided by UP’s Varanasi.
Chandra, 60, belongs to Odisha and is a former journalist who has also worked with various state govts on employment policies. His first brainwave came in mid-2020, when he was in Varanasi to conduct a survey on job losses due to the Covid pandemic. By the end of the year, he was back in the holy city with a long-term plan.
Swarmed by kids pleading for a handout on Varanasi’s many ghats, Chandra and two of his friends decided they’d start a school for them. It eventually evolved into the ‘ School of Life ’ for children of beggars. Alongside, the trio came up with the idea of Beggars Corporation.
Chandra partnered with a local NGO to provide job opportunities to beggars in Varanasi. There were no takers in the beginning, but the dwindling footfall of pilgrims during the lockdown meant begging was hardly viable for put ting food on the plate. Many beggars began to approach Chandra. Rajni was one of them. He started training her to make bags.
Rajni was a quick learner and soon shot to fame. “There was no looking back for Rajni once her labour bore fruit. The change had set in. A beggar had been transformed into a worker,” said Chandra. Rajni brought in 12 others and Chandra and his partners Badrinath Mishra and Devendra Thapa registered Beggars Corporation as a for-profit company in Aug 2022.
Soon, their first product line, called ‘ Bagful of Dreams ’, was launched. Before long, they diversified into another range called the ‘Enchanted Shirt’, featuring patchwork clothing made from upcycled Banarasi silk and cotton waste. Stoles, curtains, wall-hangings, cushion sets and even sheets followed on demand. Starting with an investment of Rs 5.7 lakh sourced from various people in the first year, the endeavour grew gradually. “These beggars have returned whatever amount was invested in them,” Chandra says. In the corporation’s lingo, they are known as beggar-turned-entrepreneurs ( BTE ).
Scaling up in 2023-24, the organisation reached out to over 50 beggar families. By 2024, over 2,000 people from different walks of life got associated with the corporation and its annual turnover reached Rs 3.4 crore. It’s looking to do business of Rs 15 crore in 2024-25.
In April 2023, Beggars Corporation received the Best Social Impact Award in a contest held in collaboration with Startup India.
Chandra, 60, belongs to Odisha and is a former journalist who has also worked with various state govts on employment policies. His first brainwave came in mid-2020, when he was in Varanasi to conduct a survey on job losses due to the Covid pandemic. By the end of the year, he was back in the holy city with a long-term plan.
Swarmed by kids pleading for a handout on Varanasi’s many ghats, Chandra and two of his friends decided they’d start a school for them. It eventually evolved into the ‘ School of Life ’ for children of beggars. Alongside, the trio came up with the idea of Beggars Corporation.
Chandra partnered with a local NGO to provide job opportunities to beggars in Varanasi. There were no takers in the beginning, but the dwindling footfall of pilgrims during the lockdown meant begging was hardly viable for put ting food on the plate. Many beggars began to approach Chandra. Rajni was one of them. He started training her to make bags.
Rajni was a quick learner and soon shot to fame. “There was no looking back for Rajni once her labour bore fruit. The change had set in. A beggar had been transformed into a worker,” said Chandra. Rajni brought in 12 others and Chandra and his partners Badrinath Mishra and Devendra Thapa registered Beggars Corporation as a for-profit company in Aug 2022.
Soon, their first product line, called ‘ Bagful of Dreams ’, was launched. Before long, they diversified into another range called the ‘Enchanted Shirt’, featuring patchwork clothing made from upcycled Banarasi silk and cotton waste. Stoles, curtains, wall-hangings, cushion sets and even sheets followed on demand. Starting with an investment of Rs 5.7 lakh sourced from various people in the first year, the endeavour grew gradually. “These beggars have returned whatever amount was invested in them,” Chandra says. In the corporation’s lingo, they are known as beggar-turned-entrepreneurs ( BTE ).
Scaling up in 2023-24, the organisation reached out to over 50 beggar families. By 2024, over 2,000 people from different walks of life got associated with the corporation and its annual turnover reached Rs 3.4 crore. It’s looking to do business of Rs 15 crore in 2024-25.
In April 2023, Beggars Corporation received the Best Social Impact Award in a contest held in collaboration with Startup India.
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