VIJAYAWADA: Once a victim of loan fraud, who lost Rs 2 lakh to a meditator, now turned as an entrepreneur and changed lives of more than 500 families belonging to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe communities across the State.Not just becoming a businessman, he made the poor Dalits and other economically weaker sections earn a decent income by making them owners of APSRTC hire buses in the State.
This is the story of 31-year-old Mendem Srinivasa Rao, who brought laurels to his native Kothuru in Tadepalli village near Vijayawada, by bringing awareness among the people around him about the hire bus policy, where owners give their buses to APSRTC on lease. Born in a middle class family, Srinivasa Rao’s journey as a businessman was not a cakewalk.
He had to spend all his savings, the retirement fund of his father, and was forced to take personal loans to make his dream come true.Establishing a startup company in 2016 soon after completing his computer science engineering (CSE) from Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT- Idupulapaya campus), Rao tasted failures as he could not obtain projects and was cheated by a mediator who promised them of loan for expanding his business.
Continuing the company and expanding seemed even more far-fetched at that point for Rao. “It was a tough time for me as there was no one to support me. At that time I came to know about the hire buses policy in APSRTC. I applied for it and to my luck, I was awarded with the tender. With that positive boost, I have decided to help the poor in my community to become businessmen and earn a decent income.
Utilising the central government scheme ‘Standup India’, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have obtained loans from the government,” Srinivasa Rao said recalling his journey.Later, with the help of DICCI (Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries), Rao worked as a state coordinator and found an elevated platform to reach more families.Rao once hit headlines in 2016 when he launched a mobile application, Krishnamma Pushkaralu and web application for the convenience of pilgrims visiting Vijayawada.