Who Is Srikanth Bolla? Denied Seat In Indian Colleges, This Blind Man Went On To Study In MIT, Became Entrepreneur, Now Owns Multi-Crore Business

Success Story: Srikanth Bolla's business makes a staggering hundred crores in annual revenue and employs hundreds of people.

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." This quote by Mahatma Gandhi must have motivated people to overcome all physical obstacles in order to turn wish into reality. Srikanth Bolla of Andhra Pradesh is one such person who, with his indomitable courage and strong will, proved to the entire world that there is no limit to what is possible. Srikanth inspires people to never give up because the loser is the one who does not fight.

Srikanth Bolla, a man with vision impairments, is the founder of Bollant Industries, a business that employs and educates people with disabilities to produce compostable and eco-friendly packaging. His business makes a staggering hundred crores in annual revenue and employs hundreds of people. Continue reading to learn more about the visually impaired entrepreneur Srikanth Bolla, whose life serves as a shining example of perspective obtained despite vision loss.

Early Life Of Srikanth Bolla

Srikanth Bolla was born blind in 1992 in Andhra Pradesh. Bolla, who was raised by impoverished, illiterate farmers, was shunned by his neighbours. His parents would be asked by many people to have him killed. But his parents disregarded everything and gave Bolla all the help he needed.

Bolla has always desired to be an engineer and wanted to major in science and maths to pursue his dreams. However, numerous schools turned him down because they believed it was against the law for him to study maths and science in high school because he was blind. After being turned down, Bolla appealed in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh for reform in the law governing education so that blind students study maths and science. Bolla won his lawsuit, much to his joy.

Bolla went back to a state board school where he studied math and science and received an average grade of 98%. His good marks however could not help him in attending the IIT as his blindness became an obstacle. He then applied to MIT, one of the best technical schools in the US, and was selected. Bolla was admitted to MIT as the first blind student from India and the first blind student from outside of the country.

The Birth Of Bollant Industries

Srikanth Bolla returned to India after completing his education in the US. Back in India, Bolla understood that not everyone could battle as hard as he did for everything in life. He therefore made the decision to launch his own business and hire people with impairments. 
In 2012, Bolla established Bollant Industries. He developed his company into one that generated enormous profits through his astute business sense, diligence, and commitment. The Bollant Industries manufactures packaging solutions. More than 600 people work for the company, with disabled people making up about half of the workforce. Additionally, Ratan Tata has also made investment funding in his company.

Awards Received By Srikanth Bolla

Srikanth Bolla has received several awards. He was awarded Emerging Leadership Award by ECLIF Malaysia in 2016. Bolla was included in the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list in 2017. In 2019, the Indian government presented him with the National Entrepreneurship Award.  He was awarded Entrepreneur of the  Globe by One Young World, UK in 2019.