Experiences

Interactive Session with Dr.Pawan Agarwal, Mumbai’s Dabbawallas at Oshwal Auditorium

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For over a century, bicycle couriers have been ferrying food boxes around Mumbai, the financial capital of India – an approach that works as well as ever. The Dabbawallas are a proof of how simple people are delivering amazing results with 6 Sigma accuracy and customer service and predictability.

Entrepreneurs’ Organization East Africa & Kuza Biashara hosted the Dabbawala event on Thursday, 10 April 2014 at the Oshwal Centre Auditorium, Ring Road, Westlands, Nairobi. Entrepreneurs running their businesses and upcoming young entrepreneurs heard the inspiring story by Dr. Pawan Agrawal on how Mumbai Dabbawalas provide excellent services without any technological backup. Dabbawala does over 120+ million transactions per year.

5 Entrepreneurship Lessons from Dr. Pawan of Mumbai Dabbawalas

From Mumbai India to London UK, Philadelphia (USA) and now to Nairobi Kenya Dr. Pawan G. Agrawal’s mighty words of advice have lit an everlasting fire in all corners of the globe. During his recent tour here in Kenya on 4/10/2014 he boldly narrated his journey as a man who is committed to changing the mindset of society.

He shared numerous business ideas with young and upcoming entrepreneurs.

We have summarized 5 crucial lessons that entrepreneurs in Kenya (and Africa at large) can borrow from him.

Passion and Dedication

If you don’t have a passion for what you are doing, you will never succeed. There will be days/years when your business will not perform as well as you would want it to. But your passion will drive you to keep pushing forward. It is this burning passion that will push you to achieve your full potential.

Message from Dr. Pawan:

“If we want to achieve anything, then we must work passionately to achieve our goal.”

Consistency and Commitment

It is important that you’re consistent in your business activities. When you get into a habit of “starting then stopping”, you run the risk of several negative outcomes. For instance, your customers may become disconnected from your business. In other words, even if they value your service, your inconsistency and lack of commitment will cause them to run away from you all together.

Message from Dr. Pawan:

“In our (Dabbawalla) career to get the best result, it’s required to work consistently. I believe we can give our 100% commitment.”

Work is Worship

Another vital lesson that Dr. Pawan Agrawal shared with businessmen in Kenya is that they need to respect the work they do. Extraordinary entrepreneurs devote themselves to an issue and see it through to completion. They don’t joke around with their job roles. They have high regard for their work. Most importantly, they value their customers and will do anything to achieve 100% customer satisfaction levels.

Message from Dr. Pawan:

“We must respect our work. Whatever we’re doing, we should be proud of it.”

Good Time Management

Time management is something that many small businesses struggle with. While large organizations may use sophisticated technology to run their tasks, small businesses often have to do things manually and therefore may not be able to accomplish tasks on time. Cultivating a culture of “zero time wastage” in your fledging business is extremely important. By taking control of your time, you are able to keep your focus on the task at hand. This in turn leads to higher efficiency and admirable momentum.

Message from Dr. Pawan:

“It’s very simple to follow time, if you decide to do anything timely, no power can make you late.”

Humanity Comes First

Your business’ culture is partially the outward demonstration of the values you adhere to. The question you therefore need to ask is whether your values are painting the image you desire. Does your business culture promote extraordinary customer care? How well do you treat your suppliers? Do you care for human values? These are some rhetorical questions you need to ponder from time to time just to ensure that you’re keeping all human values in mind.

Message from Dr. Pawan:

“Service to human is service to God. Even if you’re highly qualified or rich you must keep in mind all human values.”

Final Word

Of course, there are many more lessons that we can all learn from Dr. Pawan Agrawal and his Dabbawalla’s team. You’re welcomed to join our facebook page to engage with other like-minded entrepreneurs. Please leave a comment below and let’s engage in business discourse.



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About Kuza Biashara

About Kuza Biashara

Starting a business is a leap of faith even in the best of circumstances. We at Kuza Biashara are focussed to encourage these daring small business owners who have the potential to innovate and change the world by contributing to the nation’s economy and livelihood.