Our mentor Kalpana Ghatge is an Electronic and Telecommunication Engineer and she started off her career as an engineer with the Electronics Corporation of India. After her marriage, she moved to Kolhapur and kept focusing on her career. Thereafter, she began her venture to manufacture hand operated photocopying machines. During this time, she was simultaneously working with the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology as their visiting faculty for Electronics studies.

A while later, Kalpana took control of Ghatge Electricals as the director where the company has been manufacturing spare parts for DC motors. She is currently a partner with S.M Ghatge and sons, who are dealers in Hero motorcycles. She is also a partner in a Nissan dealership in Kolhapur. And these are just a few of her many accomplishments in her prolific professional path.

Kalpana’s journey with BYST has been no less than her personal accomplishments. She has been actively mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs and leading them to success. She is currently mentoring a young Sneha Thenge, who is a fashion designer and a first-generation entrepreneur. Kalpana identified Sneha’s raw talent immediately and realised that doing it all by herself has been a little too much to deal with, especially with no guidance on harnessing her business skills. Kalpana has been actively focusing on how to find the niche for Sneha’s venture and creating ideas for specialised services. Kalpana is also providing Sneha with a holistic understanding of how any enterprise operates to optimise the resources and maximise the gains – monetarily and otherwise.

For all of the amazing things Kalpana has accomplished through the years, she was awarded the Successful Female Entrepreneur in the year 2018. Her proficiency in Hindi language has also resulted in her winning many national awards in various capacities. Even the UNO has been appreciative of her contributions and successes in the world of entrepreneurship!