Here - Start-up Kashmir!

multiple forms and in different sectors. It has been recognized that there are different types
of entrepreneurship, including economic, social and public entrepreneurship.
Economic Entrepreneurship
For the majority of individuals who own an enterprise, the first priority is profit maximization.
The autonomy of running a business enables individuals with the freedom to make
decisions, particularly with their budgets and expenses. Growing and maximizing profit is
at the core of fundamental entrepreneurship.
Economic Entrepreneurship in Kashmir:
Kashmir’s small but growing private sector is the story of dozens of entrepreneurs – people
who developed new products and services targeted at the market and who built companies
from scratch. These Kashmiri entrepreneurs not only achieved financial success for their
companies, they have helped put Kashmir on the map and have contributed to job creation
and economic growth. There is no dearth of Kashmiri entrepreneurship success stories
to learn from and the SKYE Project looks forward to featuring many such stories on the
www.startupkashmir.com web portal.
An Illustrative Example of Economic Entrepreneurship in Kashmir:
One inspiring example is the story of
National Masala Mills, the parent manufacturing
company of Kanwal Foods
& Spices (I) Pvt. Ltd., founded by Mr.
Mohammad Amin in 1971. The son of
a farmer from Anantnag, Mr. Amin was
among the very first to get educated in
his family. After studying at Anantnag
Degree College, he secured a government
job that many of his family members
wanted him to take. But Mr. Amin
had that entrepreneurial DNA in him and
wanted to make his mark in the private
sector.
After a fire in which his family lost their home along with all their belongings, Mr. Amin
took a loan of 5000 rupees (US$ 100) from his uncle and started up his company. The
company started producing processed spice products under the brand “Kanwal”. Mr. Amin
saw that Kashmir had very low quality processed food products and spices in the market.
These products were imported from other states and did not cater to the local preferences
and tastes. Identifying this opportunity, Kanwal focused on quality using locally produced
inputs. Like a lotus (kanwal in Kashmiri) that grows out of the mud, Mr. Amin had a dream
that his company would blossom into a beautiful flower. In the early years, Mr. Amin
worked tirelessly building his company and expanding his market. His son and present-day
CEO of Kanwal, Mr. Farooq Amin, narrates: “When I was very young, I hardly saw my
father seven days in a month. He was always traveling - working hard, getting exposure
and opening up new business opportunities.” In 1999, Kanwal had four product offerings
and an annual turnover of US$ 700,000.
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