Slum students pitch business ideas at Salaam Bombay Foundation's mini Shark Tank

Mohammed Nasir, 15, Std XI student of Arts from Ghatkopar. PICS/BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Creating a spin-off of the reality show Shark Tank, underprivileged school students from Mumbai teamed up with business school pupils to pitch their own ideas for seed fund. From mobile repairs and beauty services to arts and crafts, students as young as 16 years old, who work to support their families, showed up on Thursday to showcase their talents at the ‘Dolphin Tanki' - a seed-funding platform organised by the Salaam Bombay Foundation.

For three weeks, these teenagers were paired with MBA students from NMIMS who helped them create a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, threats) analysis for their business ideas while helping them with the 101s of entrepreneurship the students learnt through their course. As many as 36 students presented their ideas to a panel of industry experts brought together by Salaam Bombay, who offered a total sum of '11 lakh in grants to the students, while pitches were judged on practicality, local demand, and community needs for micro-businesses like theirs.

Sectors pitched by students

>> Beauty and wellness
>> Mobile repair
>> Home appliance repair
>> Photography
>> Video editing
>> Creative arts
>> Fashion design
>> Bakery
>> Choreography

Salaam Bombay Foundation

Founded in 2002, Salaam Bombay Foundation is a Mumbai-based non-profit that focuses on keeping children from low-income communities in school. It provides underprivileged kids education, preventive healthcare, vocational training, and extracurricular programmes in arts and sports.

Students Speak

Mohammed Nasir, 15, Std XI student of Arts from Ghatkopar
I started repairing phones at first because I liked solving problems, now it helps my family and neighbours too. Eventually I took up the course via Salaam Bombay, and I want to start an affordable phone repair shop with no duplicate spare parts, no hidden charges, and no compromise on people's data security. Right now, I make around '20,000 a month, servicing 25-30 customers, and hope to get new tools with my fund

Shagun Gupta, 16, Std XI student from Kurla
After my father passed away, I had to step up to help my mother and siblings, so I started my own home-based beauty service business in Kurla West. I can do basic haircuts, makeup, facials, and threading, and am now up-skilling in bridal makeup and nail art. I asked the judges for basic tools like a vanity box and hair straightener. I help my younger siblings buy stationery and other needs for their school with this service.

Rukmini Poojari, 19, Third-Year BMM Student
Photography, for me, is about finding the story behind every frame. My father works as an auto-rickshaw driver, and my mother is a cook. For now, I work on basic photo projects. I have asked for an investment of around '50,000 for equipment like reflectors and renting cameras. I enjoy travelling, so I hope to become a destination wedding photographer.