Exclusive Interview with Rajiv Chand Garg, CMD of Catalystic Digipreneur Enterprises Limited
Rajiv Chand Garg, CMD of Catalystic Digipreneur Enterprises Limited receives the Global Pride Award 2021 for achievement in Practical Entrepreneurial Education. They have together stood up and lifted many village people and are focusing on the 3rd step which is village and micro startups along with empowering at least 15000 people in many other states to generate employment locally. Here’s an exclusive interview with Rajiv Chand Garg:
Please tell us a bit about yourself.
Hi, I’m Rajiv Chand Garg, a commerce graduate, a responsible son & citizen of our great nation Bharat, fulfilling my duties with my family and team at ground level as per Article 51A of ‘The Constitution of India’.
What were the challenges that you faced initially and how did you overcome them?
We are promoting entrepreneurship and self-employment as Catalystic Entrepreneurship in villages, towns, small cities, & various districts among youngsters and ladies which is itself a tough and challenging task due to lack of awareness, resources, mentorship, handholding, mindset, and proper entrepreneurial guidance. At the initial stage, I encountered with n-number of silly questions and great friction into this space as we are tuned to get only secured jobs from decades.
So, I have created a four-step simple system to get out of this riddle:
- Awareness Campaigns
- Skill Development Trainings
- Handholding
- Support System
My entire team and I handled every single person gently and made them aware of the ground-level challenges of the Indian Government & businesses to generate mass employment in India, related facts, and figures in local language style. Later with some tussle & hustle, they believed and now they are almost 15,000+ people standing and supporting us with an entrepreneurial mindset! These are those people who were calm during COVID-19 lockdowns as they understood ‘How to react and behave in tough & extreme situations (this is a trait of a mature entrepreneur).’
Me, my wife, my sister, and my father personally visited and trained youngsters & ladies (per-lockdowns), by my YouTube Channel, over video call sessions during entire lockdowns, now again in the field with my wife (post lockdowns). Many of them have understood the basic spirit of entrepreneurship, Govt. policies, and schemes at Centre, State, and District levels about entrepreneurship/startups, MSME, NSIC, KVIC, District level DICs, concerned departments, and many are equipping themselves.
We have also launched Catalystic Women Empowerment Centre – Skill Development initiative to skill and empower ladies, youngsters; The Catalystic Thrift & Credit Cooperative Society for financial credit access to micro startup and financial literacy at ground level; Catalystic Gram Pathshalas to encourage kids & teenagers in villages towards education at the same time empower them for better-skilled force for future India, a responsible citizen and catalyst for Indian economic growth; Catalystic Mart to help local employment-generating village or micro industries and many more projects are in pipeline to support localist towards entrepreneurship or we can say to accelerate Indian Economic growth from rural India.
What has been your most significant achievement?
After three lockdowns, our members and new entrepreneurs are confident and empowered to hustle with post-pandemic situations by village or micro startups at local levels to generate employment locally. We stood up together and lifted many village people. This is our collective achievement. I am thankful to all who supported me and stood next to me in the worst of the worst times.
How do you come up with new ideas?
With lots of prayer and planning (I pre-plan everything before sharing it publicly which is tested by pilot projects), guidance from my mentors, advice from top domain leaders on real figures or facts, and my team.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
My Mother, that question asked by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Sahab when I met him during a school trip at Rashtrapati Bhavan, was “What will you do for India, young man?” and Bhartiya Virasat.
What motivates you?
Bharat and its diversified culture & its proud heritage; history. Opportunities in the future and the young force of Yuva Bharat.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Another opportunity; to complete what was left yesterday (if so), fulfil the pre-planned activities for today, & lay the cornerstone for a better future.
Who do you look toward for advice?
For quick advice, I always trust my beloved wife. Many mentors in different domains are always available for me, so as needed, I look for their expert advice.
How do you define success?
Success is not an easy thing. Success is a blend of failures, faith, long-suffering, extreme patience, continuous trying to progress towards the goal, with family and team support.
What are your growth plans for the next 12 months?
We have now confidence in our first two steps, for the next 12 months, we will focus on our 3rd step which is village and micro startups along with empowering at least 15000 people in many other states to generate employment locally.