As the saying says, ‘Where there is a will, there is a way’. Disability does not stop you from doing what you aspire to. There have been many stories of great people who have achieved their dreams, but this one is special.
Srikanth Bolla, born blind, is the CEO and founder of Bollant Industries.
Bolla was born in the family of farmers in Seetharamapuram of Machilipatnam, a city in Andhra Pradesh. He was only seven when he left his home in order to learn braille, English and how to operate the computer. His parents have been very supportive and never gave up on him. He topped the 10th board exam and chose to study science. Bolla had completed his 12th 98 per cent.
Along the way, Bolla had overcome many difficulties and road-block. He was denied admissions as he is blind, but his willpower keeps him moving. He applied for universities in the US and got accepted in four prestigious colleges in the world today – MIT, Stanford, Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon. But he attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was the first international blind student.
After completing his studies at MIT, he started a center with staff for the visually challenged to learn computer skills on a 10 week computer course.
Bolla then returned home in order to help the people with special needs in his homeland and India as a whole. He started a Braille printing press in the Samanvai Center for children with multiple disabilities in Hyderabad, India, which provides accessible educational material available to disabled students
In 2012, Bolla started the Bollant Industries, which manufactures Areca based products and provides employment to several hundred people with disabilities, with funding from Ratan Tata.
Today, he created a 70 crore company and Bollant Industries has 5 manufacturing plants that produce eco friendly products such as areca leaf plates, cups, trays, and dinnerware. They also manufacture betel plates, and disposable plates, spoons, cups, adhesives and printing products.
Bollant has shown exceptional growth averaging 20 per cent a month since inception, with 2016-17 fiscal year revenues over 25 crores ($ 4 million). In April 2017, Bolla was named by Forbes magazine in its list of 30 under 30 across all of Asia, one of only three Indians in that list.
