iSeeIndia

Posted: Jun 7 2014 By Megha

The biggest tragedy of a nation is when the rich become richer and the poor become poorer. Such a country can never develop beyond a certain limit unless it aims for inclusive growth. Nand Kishore Chaudhary founded Jaipur Rugs in 1978 with the same ideology. In a short span of 36 years he fulfilled his dream of developing the lives of the people while establishing a successful business. Read on to know more about this success story.  

Nand Kishore Chaudhary (NKC) founded Jaipur Rugs in 1978 with 2 looms and 9 weavers. His vision was to improve the lives of people living in extreme poverty via personal economic, educational and social empowerment – instead of giving away charity. After three decades that initial vision has blossomed into a unique vertically integrated global organization that includes an extensive network of artisan weavers, an educational and social foundation, and an end-to-end supply chain including product concept, design, production and delivery. All three of these work together as a single powerful mission-driven entity focused on the empowerment of women and rural communities in India.

<img alt="" data-cke-saved-src="http://iseeindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/NKC-with-weavers-640x233.jpg" src="http://iseeindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/NKC-with-weavers-640x233.jpg"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">NKC’s beginnings were much more modest as he grew up in in a small town of Churu in Rajasthan, and started off his carpet business with weavers from the ‘chamar’ caste, regarded as untouchables. Today, Jaipur Rugs is India’s biggest manufacturer of hand-knotted carpets. The company connects woven products directly to global markets, and employs a range of weavers, including tribal women. A focus on local inclusion and global trends led the company to be profiled as a case study by the late great Prof. C.K. Prahalad. Jaipur Rugs’ innovative business model has been a matter of dissertation at various prestigious colleges like Harvard, Stanford and Michigan University.

Thanks to NKC’s business vision and life philosophy of selflessness, 40,000 artisans are now supported by Jaipur Rugs. They work on 7,000 looms in 600 villages across 6 states in India. NKC has proved that personal empowerment and economic self-determination can be achieved when empathy, love, respect and integrity are nurtured and valued by a business whose goal is that all may prosper.

NKC has been a recipient of several prestigious awards like Social Impact Award 2012 by Times Of India presented to him by President of India, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2010 and NASSCOM Social Innovation Honors 2014, and many more.

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