In India, if we have to travel a short distance, we still prefer rickshaws. It is the most easily available and cheapest mode of transport. You just need to call a rickshaw-puller and his vehicle will be at your command. It is largely a transport vehicle for small towns. However, they are visible in large numbers in cities as well. In cities, the use of rickshaws is around 30%. Mostly, the deprived section of the society that produces unorganised labour ply rickshaws.
From time to time, many people have taken up the baton to improve the lives of the rickshaw-pullers that lead very meager, often pitiable lives. They can be seen in their vehicles or on roads even during the sizzling heat like what is prevailing in New Delhi right now.
Irfan Alam, an IIM-Ahmedabad pass-out and a social activist, however, did not choose to walk away from their sufferings. Even as a teenager, he wanted to help the marginalised in society. Irfan founded the “SammaaN Foundation” in the Indian state of Bihar and how he is fighting for the rights of rickshaw-pullers all across the country.
When a 'lesson' springs to life
Dubbed as ‘rickshaw man’, Irfan told an interview that it was a journey in a rickshaw in Class XII that pulled him to his cause. “During the journey, I felt thirsty and asked the rickshaw puller for water. This made me think about the living condition of the rickshaw pullers and the scorching heat they had to endure on a daily basis. The very next day, I identified some rickshaw pullers and gave them water bottles. But, since I was young, I could not pursue the dream then,” said Irfan, whose SammaaN is now 15 years old.
Soon, Irfan started fighting for the rights of the rickshaw pullers. He saw that the rickshaw fleet owners were getting all the privileges.
“If the fleet owners can own rickshaws, why cannot the rickshaw pullers?”, he asked.
With this in mind, he started working with a bunch of banks. But the banks were apprehensive if the rickshaw drivers could repay the amount.
“I wanted to empower these rickshaw pullers, so I personally took up the responsibility of paying back the amount. In order to repay the amount, we started selling products, and advertisements in these rickshaws while 50% of the profit was given to the rickshaw drivers,” said Irfan.
He tied up with a distributor to supply mineral water at a margin of Rs2.50 a bottle. He convinced two rickshaw-pullers to sell them for a commission of Rs1 per bottle. “They sold three bottles daily for one month,” he says.
Tough days
The business idea had passed his “litmus test”.
Nevertheless, it did not take off immediately. “My parents persuaded me to complete my studies first,” says Irfan. Meanwhile, he continued to research the idea.
“In three years, I must have interviewed about 2,000 rickshaw-pullers,” he says. The mammoth effort proved invaluable as he discovered facts — nearly 90% of India’s 10 million rickshaw-pullers rent their vehicles and the rickshaw manufacturers are as unorganised as the rickshaw-pullers — that shaped his future business model.
Irfan evolved the idea of equipping rickshaws with music, magazines, newspapers, first-aid kits, refreshments, and advertisements to help the rickshaw-pullers.
The confidence boost to his business came when he won a television reality show on start-ups in August 2006. But Irfan refused the prize of Rs 50 lakh. “The sponsors wanted a majority stake in the company, which was unacceptable to me,” he says.
Irfan conducted the first “proper” pilot project in Noida with 50 rickshaw-pullers the same year. “Incentives like health insurance and bank accounts convinced them to participate,” he says. For customised design, he approached a manufacturer in Delhi. It was during this brainstorming that Irfan realised they were sitting on precious advertising space. The rickshaws could work as mobile billboards. He approached the marketing departments of various companies. “I met over 100 people in two months,” says Irfan. Finally, HT Media and Bisleri agreed. In addition, the rickshaws also agreed to sell fruit juices, water and snacks. The rickshaw-pullers earned their fares, a commission on what they sold and a fixed share of the advertisement revenue.
Hard work starts paying off
His SammaaN Foundation was formally launched in January 2007. Now, more than 500,000 rickshaws across India are registered with the foundation.
To expand its business, the Foundation teamed up with Bihar Tourism in 2007 to use rickshaws at places like Bodh Gaya. Irfan also realised that his specialisation lay in resource mobilisation, not in branding. So he has outsourced the advertising arm to Lowe Lintas. It worked stupendously and rickshaw-pullers earned handsomely.
For his contributions, Irfan was recognised by the state government and was also invited by former President Barack Obama for an entrepreneurship summit. Obama had said, “You are doing a tougher job than me.” He was one of few Indian entrepreneurs of India who met Obama during his visit to India in 2010.
Irfan has won a number of awards including the World Bank Innovation award and the TED India Fellowship. He was also selected for Ashok Fellowship and won CNBC Young Turk and CNN Young Indian Award. He has been mentoring many youngsters towards entrepreneurship and nation building. There are about 5,00,000 registered rickshaw pullers who are being supported by the Sammaan foundation. Presently he supports the National Ambulance Service that is a clinic on wheels and has been catering to the needs of thousands of the rickshaw drivers. “We have realised there are very few emergency health technicians who are trained people in this sector. So we set up skill centres in Bihar for this purpose,” he said.
Irfan was born in a lower middle-class family of seven siblings. His early education was in Bihar’s government schools. He also attended a local college in Bihar and from there reached the coveted IIM-Ahmedabad.
Apart from many accolades, the success of Irfan and his innovative business model has found a place in the curriculum of Kerala Government Higher Secondary Schools. It was introduced in 2017 and has been titled A Three-wheeled Revolution.
And Irfan’s successful revolution on wheels continues.
Dilshad Noor is a freelance contributor.
