Mumbai Brand Hits Rs 2 Crore Employing 50 Disabled Art...

Akanksha Mhatre wanted what everyone wants: to wake up with purpose, earn her own money, and be known for her work rather than her diagnosis. She wasn't asking for sympathy. She wanted a chance to belong.

For years, that chance didn't exist. When young adults with intellectual disabilities finish school in India, the opportunities vanish. Jobs are scarce, and independence feels impossibly distant.

In 2011, three special educators refused to accept that reality. Beverly Louis, Dilshad Mehershahi, and Geetanjali Gaur were in their early twenties when they started teaching students the same age. The contrast was impossible to ignore: their own lives felt expansive and full of possibility, while their students faced futures with far fewer choices.

They started Mann, a transition program in Mumbai for young adults with disabilities. It began as a space for building routines, making friends, and learning to live independently. But employment soon emerged as the missing piece.

When some graduates began assisting teachers in classrooms, something shifted. Their confidence grew, and families started recognizing capability where dependence had once been assumed. "Employment is not just about income," Beverly says. "It is about dignity and identity."

Mann grew into a large scale training organization supporting 1,200 people with disabilities annually. Yet many with higher support needs still struggled to find sustainable work. The COVID-19 pandemic made the gap even starker when many graduates lost their jobs overnight.

In October 2020, investor Sudhir Shenoy challenged the founders to create their own enterprise. What if they could design workplaces from the ground up for people with disabilities? What if they built something that valued both the planet and the people making the products?

That question became Karmann, a sustainable manufacturing brand launched in May 2021. The company upcycles textile waste into bags, accessories, and everyday items. Every artisan is a person with a disability, trained not just in production but in quality control, customer service, and workplace responsibility.

Today, Karmann directly employs 50 artisans and has generated over Rs 2 crore in revenue. Divyank, one of the artisans, says it simply: "I wanted to work, to support my mother, to build a future together. Now I can."

Why This Inspires

Karmann proves that inclusion and profitability aren't opposites. By creating a workplace designed for people often left behind, the brand has built something that works for everyone. It tackles two urgent problems at once: textile waste choking landfills and talented people shut out of meaningful work.

The artisans aren't charity cases. They're skilled workers producing quality products that customers actually want. Their paychecks support their families, and their work gives them something even more valuable: the knowledge that they belong.

Akanksha finally has what she wanted all along: a place in the world where she's known for what she creates.