BENGALURU: Udhyam Vyapaar, an initiative of Udhyam Learning Foundation, is helping street food vendors in Bengaluru increase their earnings through practical, on-ground business interventions and one-on-one mentoring.
Launched in 2025, the programme is currently working with more than 350 vendors across the city, focusing on understanding their day-to-day business challenges and co-creating solutions to improve customer experience, operational efficiency and revenue growth.
Interventions include improving cooking capacity, introducing better lighting and branding, adding seating and weather-protected setups, supporting menu enhancement, upgrading hygiene and presentation standards, and improving digital discoverability.
Vendors associated with the initiative have recorded a 24% rise in customer footfall and a 33% increase in revenue, said Krishnan Ranganathan, Director, Udhyam Vyapaar.
“India is home to nearly 5 million street food vendors, making them one of the country’s largest segments of nano-entrepreneurship. In Bengaluru alone, an estimated 6–8 million people regularly consume street food, while nearly 1.4–2 million depend on it as an affordable daily source of sustenance. Despite this scale, most vendors continue to operate with limited infrastructure, low visibility and little access to structured business support, which directly impacts how much they can serve and earn,” he said.
The initiative primarily focuses on vendors earning below Rs 30,000 a month, many of whom are necessity-driven entrepreneurs.
Ranganathan said the challenge for most vendors is not a lack of demand but the inability to serve it efficiently due to operational constraints. This often results in slower service, lower customer retention and reduced daily earnings.
Renuka Devi, who runs a food stall near Konanakunte Cross, regularly attracted long queues but struggled to keep up with demand due to limited cooking capacity. Through Udhyam Vyapaar’s intervention, her setup was upgraded from a double-burner stove to a three-burner stove along with other improvements, significantly improving cooking efficiency and reducing customer wait times.
“Earlier, I used to struggle during busy hours because I could not cook fast enough for the number of customers coming in. After the additional burner and other improvements, I can serve more people without delays. Customers are happier, and my daily income has improved noticeably,” Renuka said.
Unlike traditional skilling programmes that often end with training delivery, Ranganathan said the initiative focuses on sustained handholding and measurable business outcomes. “The objective is to help vendors build stronger, more sustainable businesses through practical interventions tailored to their individual business context,” he said.
As a non-profit initiative, the programme does not charge vendors for participation and aims to empower 5,000 vendors in Bengaluru over the next three years.