• Opportunities

Bhausaheb Janjire’s business model is essentially based on simple logic. Telecom companies have huge infrastructure requirements to back their services. So, why not manufacture products that meet these vast and continuous demands? Janjire’s company, Indotech Industries Solutions Pvt. Ltd., manufactures every kind of product required to operate a telecom tower. “We also help in acquiring land and in the civil work for erecting towers and creating sheds,” he says.

Janjire’s father was a farmer and his family lived in poverty through much of his childhood. After completing his schooling in a village in Ahmednagar and earning his bachelor’s degree in telecom engineering, Janjire decided to start his own business to help his family financially. “I wanted to be a job creator, not a job seeker,” he says.

Initially, Janjire’s manufacturing unit produced devices that monitor the electricity consumption in telecom sheds. But as his client list grew, so did their wish lists. He then started innovating as per their requirements and, in time, created a plethora of products for the telecom sector.

However, having little exposure to English and Hindi, the language barrier hampered his progress. “As I could only speak Marathi, it was very hard to impress people [with my business ideas],” Janjire recalls. Adding to the challenge were the funding problems that startups face and his own bleak economic condition. But the soft-spoken Janjire was the epitome of hope and determination.

Reading newspapers voraciously and interacting with corporate heads for the next six years helped him pick up English and Hindi; today, he is fluent in both. The funding issue was tackled by investing Rs. 10,000 from his own savings and seeking financial assistance worth Rs. 50,000 from the Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST).

Indotech  Industries was finally launched in 2003 in Pune, with Janjire’s wife as the only other employee. In FY08, Indotech clocked in revenues of Rs. 9 crore and doubled that in FY09 and now operates in various states, barring the north-east, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Among its clients are Airtel, Aircel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular.

Janjire credits much of his success to his mentor, Pradeep Bhalwankar, Managing Director at the Pune-based Twin Engineers Pvt. Ltd, who helped him select the right mix of products to manufacture at strategic moments.

In the metros, growth in the telecom industry seems negligible. But some 700 million people live in Indian villages where telecommunication services are severely lacking. The teledensity in rural India is, in fact, less than two  phones per 100 people. So, every time a telecom service provider ventures out to the rural areas, it signals a potential business boost for Janjire.

This dark horse is racing ahead, aiming to nurture his company to Rs. 100 crore in two years. Indotech Industries is definitely a company to watch out for right now.

Bhausaheb’s climb to the top:
• 2,000 towers set up till date
• Presence in 12 states
• Paid up capital: Rs. 1 crore
• Tower industry’s market potential: Rs. 1,50,000 crore

©Entrepreneur September 2009

Tags:
Ahmednagar, Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust, Bhausaheb, BYST, Indotech, Indotech Industries Solutions, infrastructure, Janjire, manufacturing, mentor, Pradeep Bhalwankar, Pune, telecom, Twin Engineers