Hyderabad: The Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) has been engaging with the governments of Andhra Pradesh and Telengana as well as the local Dalit communities to facilitate setting up of Dalit-owned businesses. Ravi Kumar Narra, the south India coordinator of DICCI, says, “DICCI organizes activities that encourage entrepreneurship. We have been mentoring the youth of the backward communities for the past 2-3 years. We form the link between those who want to set up businesses and the government, and tell them where the opportunities lie.” Now a respected businessman, Narra himself grew up in the slums and is a living example of how entrepreneurship can turn lives around. “We have mentored about 130 people in the past 2-3 years, out of which 40 have already set up their businesses,” he says, adding that about two to three had a Naxal past.
Published in the March 2015 issue of the Forward Press magazine
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