MANISH GUPTA
Ranchi, Aug 23: City-based Kalam Academy, a digital marketing institute-cum-agency co-founded by Vikash Mishra, has set an ambitious target of serving one million small retailers around the world in their e-commerce journey by the end of 2023.
“We have helped more than 1,000 small businesses in India, Dubai, Nepal, Australia, Bangladesh and Pakistan to set up their digital footprint and begin e-commerce,” said Mishra, the 28-year-old computer engineer who established the academy in 2018.
Mishra and his team of 20 young professionals have developed custom-made apps for grocery and other shop owners in different cities. They helped build online identity for the shop owners and get back their market from giant online retailers like Amazon.
“We now plan to accelerate and scale up our business multiple times. We have set up a target of serving one million retailers and shop owners by the end of next year 2023. The ration shops have increased their business by starting ecommerce,” he said.
Inspired by scientist and former President APJ Abdul Kalam, the startup entrepreneur believes the key to success for a company and a country lies in gaining and applying knowledge and technology. So, he is into both education and technology.
Kalam Academy was recently chosen as one of the 100 startups from across India for a six-month training program jointly organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Google that culminated in July with a graduation ceremony.
“We were shortlisted by Google in their list of 100 promising startups. We were the only ones from Jharkhand. It was a full-scale mentorship program that has given us access to various crucial resources like venture capitalists, management and tech experts.”
Mishra says he is not in the race of being recognised as a startup or a unicorn.
“I do not require any funding. To be successful, one needs to work for one to two years without making noise and study real time reviews from customers. Instead many focus on getting the funding. And, the problems that they try to resolve are not real problems. It’s only in their mind,” Mishra said as advice for the budding startup entrepreneurs.
