Irfan Alam

Irfan Alam is a world-known social entrepreneur. At 13, he founded a portfolio management firm. But his breakthrough came from winning ZEE TV’s reality show Business Baazigar Business Baazigar is a reality show that is starte >> Read More... . He then started his socially profitable organization Sammaan using funds collected from family and friends. He is helping the rickshaw pullers in India. When one of them approaches his organization, they help him get credit for buying his own rickshaw. Then advertisements are put on the rickshaw, and the organization of the puller shares revenue from these in the ratio of 50:50. The money that they earn from carrying around passengers is solely theirs. Sammaan helps these people in obtaining insurance as well, and they are helped only after proper verification. Irfan has said that the revenues of people helped by his organization have increased about 30 to 40%. He has been featured in various national and international columns and has gained worldwide recognition. He has also won many awards. His organization helps these people earn more revenue and provides them with a sense of belongingness. Their spouses and children are given evening classes known as Samman Gyaan.

He was awarded CNBC young Turk and CNN Young Indian Leader award. His organization has redesigned rickshaws and sells them to the pullers. They also encourage them to sell products like newspapers and stationery items. The operations are running in 30 cities like Pune, Mumbai, and Chennai, with more than 5,00,000 people already a part of the organization. They are also planning to Lunch a program to help the auto-rickshaw drivers. They have launched a profit company Sammann Ventures to earn direct profits and to raise funds. Irfan is planning to extend its reach to more than 50 cities in the future. Inspired by his venture, the Kerala government has included his success story as a part of the English syllabus for Class 12th.

He is also being featured in a book on social entrepreneurship by Springer publication, New York Click to look into! >> Read More... . He has been on board for several organizations like CII Young Indians. He has also been mentoring students to help them with their entrepreneurial skills. He has featured in India Today's 40 Youth Icons of India, India’s best 30 Youths by Times of India, 24 Youth Icons of India by India Today Aspire, The Guardian, Washington Post, and The Economist. He is also the winner of the World Bank Innovation award.