MUMBAI (India CSR): For decades, low-income public schools have grappled with challenges of basic literacy, attendance, and limited resources. But today, a silent revolution is unfolding in classrooms across Mumbai and Talegaon. Thanks to a unique innovation program by Sushil Bhalchandra Mungekar, Founder & CEO of ENpower, these schools are being transformed into innovation hubs where imagination, design thinking, and problem-solving thrive.
A Rapid Rise: Scaling Across Schools
What started as a pilot in 3 schools in 2022, impacting just 824 students and 23 teachers, has now become a city-wide movement:
- 2023–24: Expanded to 35 schools, including 26 BMC schools, reaching 6,600+ students and training 108 teachers.
- 2024–25: Scaled to 75 schools, impacting 11,200+ students and training 184 teachers in design thinking.
- 2025–26: Now active in 90 schools (76 BMC, 10 Talegaon, 4 Mumbai low-income schools), empowering nearly 12,000 students.
This exponential growth reflects not just scale, but a deep-rooted shift toward a sustainable culture of innovation in resource-constrained schools.
Innovation in Action: Kitaab Bazaar & E-Cell Initiatives
This year, ENpower introduced entrepreneurial learning through Kitaab Bazaar, under its E-Cell program across 34 schools.
- 660 students role-played as entrepreneurs, pitching Amar Chitra Katha books to “customer personas.”
- Beyond fun, students learned confidence, empathy, negotiation, resilience, and problem-solving.
- One Grade 6 student stunned jurors with a sharp pitch:“Next time you visit a school, don’t just gift chocolates or stationery. Buy these books for the library — they’ll help children enjoy English and learn about our heroes. Buy 10, I’ll give you 5% off. Buy 50, I’ll give you 15%. Pay on delivery.”
She sold 50 books on the spot.
Impact at a Glance
- 50% drop in students at the lowest competency levels in entrepreneurship skills.
- 2x increase in students demonstrating advanced entrepreneurial competencies.
- Execution, confidence, and problem-solving emerged as core strengths.
- New schools show early gains; older schools sustain deep and consistent development.
Students once hesitant to speak are now pitching, prototyping, and innovating real solutions.
Stories That Inspire Change
- Pure Pads: Students created affordable, biodegradable sanitary pads from Katira Gond & recycled paper, tackling women’s health and waste management.
- Smart Cart: Grade 8 students built an RFID-enabled billing cart, reducing supermarket queues — a leap from imagination to execution.
- Freq Heal: Students designed an AI-enabled mental wellness app using binaural beats to reduce stress, blending empathy with tech.
These are not just projects — they are proof of what India’s underprivileged students can achieve with the right guidance.
Beyond Education: A Path to Self-Reliance
For children from low-income families, this is more than academics. It’s about:
- Building confidence and self-reliance.
- Gaining skills for an evolving economy.
- Becoming solution-driven changemakers in their communities.
ENpower is showing that innovation belongs to every child — not just the privileged few.
(India CSR)
