Swimming against the tide: A tale of entrepreneurship

KOCHI: 30 NRIs from across Kerala who either lost their jobs or faced huge salary cuts due to the Covid-19 outbreak have come together to launch Dilmart, a chain of fish and meat retail stores. The expats have already opened five stores in Kottakkal, Malappuram; Chalakudy, Thrissur; Thumpamon, Patthanamthitta; Kundara in Kollam and Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram. 

Speaking on the initiative, Cyril Antony and Anil K Prasad, founder-directors of the company, said that they are planning to  open 10 more stores in the next three months, taking the total number of stores to 40 in the next year. The chain also accepts online orders through www.dilmart.in.

“Considering the convenience of sourcing seafood, we have headquartered Dilmart in Varapuzha, Kochi, along with a warehouse. Around 30 of its promoters are from various parts of the state. To ensure fresh fish varieties in the shortest possible time, we have made arrangements with trawlers from Munambam, Vypeen, Thoppumpady, Neendakara, Vizhinjam and Puthiyappa.

In addition to these, Dilmart has started farming of fish varieties like red snapper (chempalli), Asian seabass (kaalanji) and trevally (vatta) in Kottappuram, Thrissur which is being harvested now,” they said.  “The company is being modelled after the famed Indian Coffee House, where shareholders also work, or rather they are the main workforce.

Promoters who got working experience in various fields while they were in the Gulf have chosen related sections in Dilmart to work in,” said Anil, who handles operations. The store additionally generates employment for three more youngsters in its delivery and cleaning sections. As they belong to different places in Kerala and had also worked in various Gulf countries, the promoters of Dilmart did not know each other before they got together to promote their enterprise. Most of them came to know of each other through friends or social media.