Abstract

Kalpana Saroj was born to a poor Dalit family in a small village in Maharashtra (India) and went through a difficult childhood. Married off at an early age, her married life was ridden with violence and abuse. She was rescued from a violent marriage by her father and came back to her village to start her life again. Not able to face the antagonism of the villagers to her attempts to become independent, she attempted suicide, but survived. This experience made her tough. She tried to build her life again by moving to Mumbai (capital of Maharashtra), and taking up small jobs. She graduated to becoming a small entrepreneur by starting a boutique business. She married again, but her husband died and left her an ailing steel-cupboard business. She turned it around through her resourcefulness. Using opportunities that came her way, she entered the real estate business. This helped her learn weathering tough challenges in a male dominated society. She sensed an opportunity in the sick company – Kamani Tubes Limited that had gone through a series of crisis. Again, using her resourcefulness and contacts she managed to turn it around and made it healthy. Kalpana Saroj was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Award for Women Entrepreneurs by the Government of India in 2006 in recognition of her outstanding achievement as an entrepreneur.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Succeeding as a woman entrepreneur
• Overcoming gender bias
• Overcoming caste bias

Keywords

Woman Entrepreneur, Gender Bias, Caste Bias, Dalit, Kamani Tubes, Caste System, Perseverance, Determination, Rajiv Gandhi Award, Real Estate, Turn Around, BIFR, Sick Companies