In conversation with Rajeev Kher, Founder and CEO – Sara Plast Pvt Ltd
We often think that there is hardly any other way than the usual beaten track of life. Finish your studies, get a well-paid job and work for climbing the proverbial career ladder. Just when we have made peace with that thought, we come across an individual who prompts us to change the way we think. Rajeev Kher, Founder and CEO – Sara Plast Pvt Ltd, is one such individual. An MBA from Symbiosis – Pune, Rajeev didn’t want to pursue expected course of life for he believes every single person can bring about change. The change he wanted to bring about was higher sanitation levels in India.
His company produces and rents out portable toilets and provides maintenance as well.
Rajeev was first introduced to portable toilets during a brief stay in North America as a management intern in 1997-98. He thought it was a great idea to bring back home. It was non-seasonal, scalable and had a social impact, especially for India, where sanitation is one of the biggest challenge faced by more than 80% of the population on a regular basis.
His venture Sara Plast through its brand 3s is driven by a vision to make the basic human right for improved sanitation and health a reality in today’s world. The company strives to supply and service portable restrooms from the most visited to the remotest areas of the country. His vision is to have a world where we can provide dignity to all along with the right to health and sanitation.
“It wasn’t like I felt no jitters taking on a relatively new path while others were going the tried and tested way. It was tough! I had no pay check every month and I was working on a mission of providing restroom and restroom services, which was something not too many people had on their wish list. The path chosen was off-beat but the opportunity and the future goals were well defined in my mind. I told myself to persevere, focus and stay on the plan without any deviation,” Rajeev lets us in on his journey.
Talking to Biz Divas on inclusion, a topic very close to his heart, Rajeev says, “Inclusion is essential for a robust ecosystem to function. To me, sanitation is a way of inclusion. Profit is not a bad word and it makes sense to make inclusive models that can sustain and meet the needs of the masses. It is imperative to have a clear focus on the business and social side to reach out and scale. It is the scale that will ideally make businesses inclusive along with a solid vision for the future, pipeline for growth, new initiatives and avenues. As a company we are profitable and believe that this is extremely essential if we are to make this concept work now and in the future.”
“Don’t expect success to fall into your lap without hard work and common sense. The mantra PDF (Passion, Determination and Focus) is the key!”
No opportunity is devoid of its share of hurdles, of course, and Rajeev agrees that there are numerous hurdles.
“The biggest being mindset of people to pay for toilets and cleaning services. This must change with awareness and education. There is a huge market and also room for a lot of players really in this space. We are happy to share our learnings with others,” he says.
Rajeev has had many satisfying moments in business ranging to very touching and emotional ones. A moment which he really considers a big achievement was when a poor old lady touched his feet as a mark of gratitude because he provided restrooms for her and her adolescent grandchild at a construction site. Until then they had to go out at odd hours in the night to attend to nature’s call so they were prone to snake bites, dog attacks, lack of privacy and harassment.
Meeting with dignitaries like President Clinton at CGI in New York or Mohmmad Yunus of the Grameen Group were other thrilling moments for Rajeev. Receiving funding from eminent VC funds like Aavishkaar and Responsibility or even creating their own factory and office premises has been exciting for the young dreamer in him.
Rajeev sees Sara Plast as partner with strategic alliances, acquiring companies, expanding into the allied waste management and clean energy generation space over the next 3-5 years.
Being a team player at heart, Rajeev emphasizes on the value of a robust and effective team. “I admire my team and my co-directors Ranjit and Ulka who ensure all these dreams are executed and support me for all my mad ideas!” he signs off.
