Page 58 - EW March 2021

People

explains.
Future plans. While currently this
initiative is focused on schools in
Delhi NCR, there are plans to take
the campaign nationwide. “WICCI
is collaborating with Unicef, WHO,
NCPCR, NGOs, municipal corpora-
tions, and local government bodies
to reach out to education institutions
countrywide and help create safer
environments for children,” she says.
Way to go, Sis!
Autar Nehru (Delhi)

English focused

edupreneur

Gadia: children empowerment initiative
ighly articulate educator and
serial entrepreneur KAV and 40 teachers, Gadia has also Stones2Milestones, focusing on mak-
HISH GADIA is the founder- upgraded the institution by integrat- ing a “profitable impact” in society.
CEO of Gurugram (Haryana)-based ing high-quality academic education, In 2015, he sold Resurgent India
Stones2Milestones Pvt. Ltd (S2M, community service linked real-life and bought Amrit Vidyalaya with the
estb.2008, headcount: 300). This learning and values education to sales proceeds.
edtech start-up offers schools, teach- nurture global leaders. Direct talk. “Empowering children
ers and parents diagnostic, afford- Newspeg. In November 2020, S2M has been the goal of my life. When I
able and research-based English celebrated its 12th anniversary by was at IIM-Lucknow, I realised that
reading and literacy solutions for raising equity funding of $2.5 million access to opportunity differentiates
children in the 5-12 age group. (Rs.18.25 crore) from New York- the rich from poor. Stones2Mile-
Through its globally benchmarked based Unreasonable Capital and its stones was born out of a deep-rooted
flagship fREADom mobile app — a lending partner Goldhirsh Founda- desire to create opportunities for
vertically integrated pedagogy stack tion. Simultaneously the company children. For eight years, S2M served
for learning English as a second acquired Chennai-based MultiStory as a research lab where my team col-
language — launched in 2016, young Learning Pvt. Ltd — a boutique chil- laborated with Ivy League Stanford
learners can improve their English dren’s literature content company. and Carnegie Mellon Universities
reading, writing and conversation History. Born into a traditional Mar- to develop our full-stack fREADom
skills. S2M also offers live online wari business family in Siliguri (West app which empowers children to
artificial intelligence-powered and Bengal) and raised by his grandpar- learn English language skills early in
faculty-led fREADom English classes ents in remote Jhunjhunu (Rajast- life. Currently, users can subscribe
which has signed up 250,000 reg- han), Gadia is a business administra- to the app free-of-charge with only
istered users. Among them are 100 tion and finance postgraduate of the live classes chargeable at Rs.200 per
budget private schools and the DPS, Devi Ahilya Bai University, Indore class,” says Gadia.
DAV, Shri Ram and Jain pan-India and IIM-Lucknow. Future plans. “Recently, we started
school chains. At age 18 while he was an un- pilot projects in South Korea. We
In addition to master-minding the dergrad student, Gadia dabbled have also drawn up a blueprint to
business operations of S2M, Gadia in equities and commodities trad- extend our English language learning
also runs the K-12 Amrit Vidyalaya, ing, import-export financing and services to students and youth in the
Kalol (Vadodara) where he was a promoted a boutique investment 12-20 age group. Also on the agenda
volunteer teacher for 15 years before bank (Resurgent India Ltd). After his is replication of the Amrit Vidyalaya
acquiring the school in 2015. Since postgrad studies at IIM-Lucknow, model across rural India within the
then apart from translocating this he acquired three years working next decade, if not earlier,” enthuses
co-ed state board-affiliated English- experience at KPMG before decid- Gadia.
medium school to a new 5-acre cam- ing to quit corporate life in 2008 Power to your elbow!
pus which hosts over 400 students and “follow his heart” by promoting Paromita Sengupta (Bengaluru)

58 EDUCATIONWORLD MARCH 2021