ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROJECT

BY IDREES MUHTAQ BHAT

ROLL NO 7053
BCOM HONORS
SUBJECT ----ENTREPRENEURSHIP
SUBMITTED TO ----UMAR AMIN
HE STARTED FROM SCRAB AND BECAME ICE INNOVATOR
OF KASHMIR

WASEEM AHMAD NADAF.

Everyone wanted young Waseem Ahmad Nadaf to be an
engineer, but he chose a different path. Today as a young
innovator from Kashmir, he’s being praised for designing
low-cost ventilators amid pandemic

BY IDREES MUSHTAQ BHAT

HIS mad devotion was noticed early in his life when
he would skip the usual childhood games to watch
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his father manufacture copper ornaments at

length. The art of moldings copper eventually
inspired the boy to innovate new and handy things,
including a low-cost ventilator at a time when
many in Kashmir were wondering: “Don’t we have any
innovators who could make some ventilators on the
emergency basis in this crisis hour?”
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Before life would put him on an innovative ride, Waseem

Ahmad Nafar, 22, was a boy-next-door from downtown
Srinagar, with a routine schooling from S.P Higher
Secondary School, Srinagar.

Once done with his school campus life, his innovative

prowess earned him a ticket to 2015 Global Youth Leader
Summit.

It was a summit for young start-up innovators, where he

got a chance to meet a good number of entrepreneurs and
CEO’s from different parts of the world.
The summit held in Delhi crossed his path with the
founder of Human Circle, Kamal Seth.
“On the last day of the summit, he [Seth] came to me and
asked, ‘I do not think you want to pursue your career in
engineering. Do what you like to do!’”

These words struck Waseems mind and he decided to leave

Kashmir and come to Delhi.

He stayed with Seth for two years and worked as an

intern with his organization.

 “I was very shy initially, but Mr. Seth’s wife helped

me a lot in overcoming my fears, as she was a
psychiatrist.”

Apart from working as an intern with Human Circle,

Nadaf also interned with an international hostel in
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Delhi, where he got to meet many people from around

the world.

“It was my mentor Mr. Seth who advised me to work

there as he was fond of Kashmiri hospitality,” Waseem
recalled.

During his two-year stay in Delhi, Nadaf worked with

many renowned organizations, including UNICEF, Young
India Challenge, among others to discover more and
more innovation learning scope.

Waseem’s innovative world

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I travelled to different parts of India and met lots

of entrepreneurs and innovators,” he said. “The
exposure I got in those two years is priceless.”

In Delhi, Nadaf also applied for a course at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He
cleared the first round, but could not make it to
the final list of selected candidates.

The success in the first round of the selection

process motivated him to build a career in the field
of innovation.

“The fact that I could not score well in

engineering entrance exams and still made it to the
final round of MIT selection process, boosted my
morale a lot,” Nadaf said.

Innovation, he asserted, is the science behind making

the world a better place.

“I used to get inspiration from scrap,” he continued.

“I always thought that any useful and innovative
things can be made out of scrap.”
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Waseem soon started working on designing water bottles

that automatically filter water. He also started his
own start-up called Let’s Breathe Technology.
During his research, he got constant incubation support
from Kashmir University for his prototypes and he
successfully designed water-filtering bottle.

The low-cost bottle which is made of organic material

can be recycled and can filter contaminated water and
turn it to potable.

“It was in the 33rd attempt that the result of the test

came positive,” he said. “The end goal is to make more such
bottles to reduce dependency on water filters.”
He pitched his idea at the state level Start-up India
Program and went on to win the Jury Award.
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Apart from Kashmir University, Jammu and Kashmir

Entrepreneur Development Institute (JKEDI) also guided
him and provided him incubation support for his
innovation.

In August 2019, Nadaf got a chance to participate in

Entrepreneur World Cup held at Delhi, but the fateful
day of August 5 forced him and his father to travel back
to Kashmir.

Finally, in January 2020, Nadaf got a chance to explore

different innovative ventures in India under the Jagriti
Yatra Scheme of Government of India. He travelled to 14
states in a special train.
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Finally, in January 2020, Nadaf got a chance to explore

different innovative ventures in India under the Jagriti
Yatra Scheme of Government of India. He travelled to 14
states in a special train.

“The immense exposure I got through that journey

cannot be described in words,” he said. “I also got to meet
a renowned entrepreneur Sonam Wangchuk during that
innovative trip.”

Despite emerging as an ace innovator of Kashmir, Waseem

is far from done. During pandemic, he successfully
designed low-cost ventilators from scratch.

“Next,” he said, “I want to study innovation abroad and

comeback to serve my society in a much-better way.”

BY----- IDREES MUSHTAQ BHAT

ROLL NO----7053
BCOM HONORS
SUBMITTED TO ------PROF UMAR AMIN SIR