“Who Knew A Boy From A Small Village Would End Up In Forbes One Day”- Young Under 30 Entrepreneur Celebrates Achievments After Starting A Platform That Has Introduced Over 1,000 Students To Digital Learning

“‘Abhishek, you are in the Forbes 30 under 30!’ The first time I heard these words, I couldn’t believe them. It felt like a dream. Who knew a boy from a small village would end up in Forbes one day?

Growing up, I attended a government school and knew nothing about the world outside my village–I’d never even seen a computer! So, when Papa got a job in the city and enrolled me in a private school, my world opened up. I found a new school, new friends, better opportunities, and most importantly, technology.

I was amazed the moment I switched on my PC–the internet had all the answers! I thought, ‘If only I had this back in the village.’

I wanted someone–the government, the teachers, the officials, to do something about this. Years later, in college, when I started going to shelter homes & orphanages, I realised, ‘I could be that ‘someone’!’

I told Papa, ‘I want to take up social services.’ But he said, ‘You’ll regret this decision!’ and stopped speaking to me. Like most people, he believed that social entrepreneurship is a dead-end career. But I had faith in my cause and knew that I would make him proud.

So, I founded Muskaan Dreams a year after I graduated with my savings and a small funding. My vision was to give government school students a level playing field by introducing digital learning to them.

But it wasn’t going to be easy. I had no experience in running an organisation, the funding was scarce, and government officials were reluctant to hear me out.

Hard work was the only way out. I must’ve forgotten to eat so many times in those initial years, caught up in work. But to help more and more students, I needed financial support.

Fortunately, when I reached out to investors, many were impressed and I started receiving funding; we have 10 investors now! That’s how Muskaan Dreams grew–in the first year, over 1,000 students were benefiting from us!

A year later, we organised an inauguration for a project we were working on. We invited over 3,000 guests, including the then Vice President of India, and my Papa–by then, it had been 2 years since we’d spoken.

I was nervous but to my delight, they both showed up! My chest puffed with pride when the Vice President talked about our work. But the highlight was seeing Papa’s eyes water when watching me with the Vice President.

Papa became my biggest supporter then. A year later when I was listed in Forbes 30 under 30, and couldn’t believe it, it was Papa who said, ‘You deserve this and more!’

Today, we have impacted the lives of 1 lakh children, but there’s still a long way to go… Our mission is to educate 1 million students by 2025. An opportunity I received as a kid changed my life, and I want to pass the same opportunity on to every child in India. I hope someday another Abhishek takes this baton forward!”

Abhishek Dubey with Muskaan Dreams is on a mission to transform education in India.

Source: Humans of Bombay

Email: elora.akpotosevbe@yahoo.com