Diwali 2018: MBA students hustle to sell diyas for NGOs

Forty students from the Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research (WIMDR) sold 1,000 diyas on the streets of Mumbai to learn entrepreneurship. The MBA students bought the earthen lamps from two non-profit organisations that work with differently-abled children, and raised Rs 18,000 in four days. They intend to donate the amount to the same NGOs on 14 November on the occasion of Children’s day.

The students of the Matunga-based institution purchased the diyas from Ira Gurukul and Sparsh, located in Andheri and Chembur, respectively. Their entrepreneurial project was executed as a part of the accelerator program in which students undergo sessions on how to run a business or develop business ideas.

“Students aspiring to be entrepreneurs typically enrol for this program,” says Kashyap Sheth, who is pursuing a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM). “We were given the task of executing sales. We learnt how to talk to random people or start conversations with strangers. We came up with an idea to sell diyas since it is the festive season.”

The 40 students divided themselves in two groups — each was given the task of selling 500 diyas.

They created different posts among themselves, such as CEO, CFO and COO to delegate specific tasks. The students were excited and content to work on a project that combined work, fun and social responsibility. “The project gave us ground experience on sales,” says Sheth. “The challenge was given by the institute, and we decided to do it in a nicer way.“

Echoing Sheth’s sentiments, Sandhya Sajnani, another PGDM student, said, “We had a good start on the first day. When we told people that the diyas were made by differently-abled students, they showed interest in buying them. One entrepreneurial lesson we learnt was to accept ‘No’ from buyers, but never give up.”