Jammu and Kashmir Young Entrepreneurs Forum

23/11/2025

Kashmir Crust: How Young Entrepreneur Imshan Mir from Nesbal Sumbal Turned a Simple Chapati Into a Successful Brand

In a market filled with food products claiming purity and authenticity, Kashmir Crust has quickly carved out a unique identity. Behind this rising brand is the determination and vision of young entrepreneur Imshan Mir, who transformed a simple household staple—the chapati—into a flourishing business rooted in tradition, hygiene, and innovation.
The Journey Begins
At an age when many aspiring entrepreneurs are still exploring their path, Imshan Mir recognized a growing need in modern households: fresh, hygienic, ready-to-eat chapatis that retain the taste and feel of homemade food. With fast-paced lifestyles and increasing work pressures, many families sought convenience without sacrificing authenticity.
Seeing this gap, Imshan—driven by ambition and a passion for food entrepreneurship—launched Kashmir Crust, a brand inspired by the Kashmiri values of purity, hospitality, and craftsmanship.
A Success Story in the Making
Despite his young age, Imshan has shown remarkable business maturity. Kashmir Crust has grown steadily, building trust through:
Consistent quality
Word-of-mouth recommendations
A strong social media presence
Genuine customer appreciation
The brand’s journey reflects:
Innovation born from everyday needs
Courage to step into a competitive market
Determination to create something meaningful
A deep connection to local culture and community
Imshan Mir’s story is proof that great ideas don’t always require complexity—sometimes, they begin with something as simple as a chapati, shaped by vision and dedication.

Contact: +91 84910 40312

21/08/2023

11/07/2023

Kulgam boy designs low-cost egg incubator.

All of 10, young Momin Ishaq has come up with a piece of innovation that could potentially make poultry business cheaper in the foreseeable future.

A resident of Munad Guffan village in Kulgam district of South Kashmir, Momin has designed a low-cost egg incubator after a sincere and dedicated effort over two years.

Currently studying in the second grade of a government high school in Munad, the 10-year-old has come up with an egg incubator, which is both economical and efficient.

His innovation aims to support the local poultry business and small-scale farmers by providing a regulated environment for hatching eggs. Momin's interest in creating an incubator was sparked by his fascination with the abundance of coloured chicks in the market.

He had been rearing Desi chickens, but they were not hatching eggs. He then set out to develop a low-cost egg incubator that took approximately two years to complete.

Momin said, "I was rearing desi (broiler) chickens but they weren't hatching eggs. Hence I worked on creating a low-cost egg incubator for about two years and eventually came up with it. An incubator is usually large in size, enabling hens to hatch eggs besides maintaining a suitable temperature for chicks to brood."

Calling late former President and India's 'Missile Man', Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, his idol, young Momin said he has already set sights on designing more innovative devices so that not just his village but the entire country can take pride in his achievements.

His father, Mohd Ishaq Teli, said even at such a young age, his son worked hard on designing the low-cost egg incubator.
"Though a daily wage earner, I saved up enough to purchase an inverter battery, which helped my son keep his dream project alive. I am delighted and glad that my son could accomplish what he set out to," said the 10-year-old's father.

"We need to extend every possible support to our children who aspire to be achievers or do something good for the society," added Mohd Ishaq Teli. (ANI)

30/03/2023

The BASHIR™ catheter, co-invented by Dr. Riyaz Bashir, an illustrious alumnus of GMC Srinagar and Professor of Medicine, Director of Vascular and Endovascular Medicine, at the Lewis Katz school of Medicine and Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, USA.
It is made of an expandable basket with mini-infusion catheters. Once placed inside a clot, the infusion basket expands, creating new channels in the clot and thereby increasing the surface area exposed to clot-dissolving drugs delivered through the catheters.

25/02/2023

Kashmir Angel Network organises startup investment pitch event in Srinagar

Srinagar February 25 : A first-of-its-kind investor summit for home-grown startups was today conducted at Hotel Palm Spring by Kashmir Angles Network, a Srinagar-based start-up facilitation and investment organisation. The event was attended by a host of Startups, investors, representatives from industry, and students.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Shabir Ahmed Handoo, Chairman and CEO, Kashmir Angel Network gave an introduction to KAN and said that Kashmir Angel Network, an initiative of a few professionals, is working towards the creation of an enabling environment for Startups in Kashmir. KAN, he said, is a Network of Angel Investors who are willing to invest in early-stage businesses besides providing them mentorship and hand-holding support. “KAN”, he said has a vision to act as a multiplier in the efforts of the government in creating a thriving private sector in the region by way of mentoring, financing and incubating starups’.

Thereafter Mr. Irtif Loan conducted the Pitch Session of the event and said that KAN is evolving as a platform where startups and investors meet, exchange ideas and create businesses. Commenting on today’s event said that the event is a first in the series of events planned by KAN to leverage resources, networks and Government-led initiatives to be a part of the growth story scripted by startups across. In the pitch session the four startups from Kashmir region that presented their business ideas to the investors were Cred Agro, Lieper Books, and Kashmir Origin.

Cred Agro is an agro-tech company using integrated agriculture systems for utilisation of fallow lands. Lieper Books is a social media networking platform for book lovers. Kashmir Origin is an e-commerce platform with a B2B and B2C business model.

The pitches were well-received by the investors. The presentations generated a lot of interest and discussions around the strategies pitched by the startups.

The higlight of the event was that all the three start ups pitched for investment got the investment committments right during the event.

28/06/2022

Known as Hatim Tai of Kashmir, This Man Was Once The Richest Kashmiri

The Sopore town of North Kashmir is known by the epithet ‘Chota London’ since ages now. It’s said to represent the three R’s : 1. Rub (Mud/Silt/Soil) 2. Raeda (Horse Carts) 3. Ropai (Money) Rub represents the rawness and simplicity of the place. Horse carts, locally called ‘Raeda’ were once upon a time a decent mode of transportation in towns and people owning horse carts would be considered financially well equipped.

‘Ropai’ represents money which the people of Sopore are said to have in abundance! But the most heartwarming moniker given to these people is that they are called ‘Zinda Dilane Sopore’ which translates to ‘People with a beating heart’ What better alias could describe the liveliness of this place and its people!

The soil of Sopore has given birth to many legends and if we were to add another ‘R’ to the three ‘R’s, it would stand for ‘rebel’. You can hear the name of one such legend in sync with the sound of the heartbeats of the people of Sopore even today! The name of ‘Khwaja Abdul Samad Pandith’

Khwaja was the honorary title conferred to this man in the early 80’s. It’s an Arabic title used across Middle East and Asia to people who’ve lived an extraordinary life and set examples for generations to come! It translates as ‘Master’, ‘Lord’ or in archaic sense ‘gentleman’. Among other names given to Abdul Samad Pandith are also ‘The Hatim Tai of Kashmir’ and ‘The King of Sopore’.

Samad was named so because Hatim Tai was a famous Arab poet whose stories of extreme generosity have made him an icon among Arabs up until today, as is evident in the proverbial phrase ‘more generous than Hatim!’. Samad Pandith was given the honor of being called ‘The Hatim Tai of Kashmir’ because he was extremely generous and would outdo anyone in charity and good deeds! He took the responsibility of getting scores of poor girls married throughout the valley and would never disclose that he was the one financing all their marriage expenditures.

Many such stories came to the daylight only after his demise because he wouldn’t allow such kind of publicity for himself. The Pandith family led in business but the main reason for their popularity was the good deeds of this humanitarian!

One of the popular tales of this legend is that, in the 19th century, a terrible plane crash took place in the Anantnag district of Kashmir. All passengers died and they included one of the Khwaja’s sons. The plane had crashed in a very remote area, the access to which was next to impossible. It was winter and Kashmir had witnessed a very heavy snowfall. The government had given up on the rescue operation of the victims and of claiming the dead bodies. It is then that the government sought the Khwaja’s help to cut through the snow jammed mountains, to build a road and reach the site of the plane crash! Such was this man’s financial status and power, yet he was so humble and at disposal of every poor and needy!
Abdul Samad Pandith was not just a philanthropist, he was a visionary. Originally a forest landlord and the richest man of his times, he set up many firsts in the valley. He set up the first movie theatre of Kashmir which was named ‘Samad Talkies’ after him. Amongst other first industrial units that he put up were joinery mills, jam jelly factory, dairy farms and many other business subdivisions! People remember him even today and even though he passed away, his generations are known and celebrated by his name! What a legacy to leave behind! AlHaqu Murun righty dedicated this Urdu couplet to Khwaja Abdul Samad Pandith: ‘Kisi ki muskurahato pe ho jaan nisaar! Kisi ka dard ho sakhe toh le udhaar! ‘Jeena issi ka naam hai’ Written by Dr.Ain Wani

15/01/2022

Probably seen this around for a while. I believe still worth a share as a reminder from time to time does no harm!!

A FEW STORIES TO START:
1. Nokia rejected Android.
2. Yahoo rejected Google.
3. Kodak turned down digital cameras.

LESSONS:
1. Take risks.
2. Accept the change.
3. If you refuse to change over time, it will become obsolete.

TWO MORE STORIES:
1. Facebook takes over WhatsApp and Instagram.
2. Grab takes over Uber in Southeast Asia.

LESSONS:
1. Become so powerful that your competitors become your allies.
2. Reach top position and work smart with competition.
3. Keep innovating.

TWO MORE STORIES:
1. Colonel Sanders founded KFC at age 65..
2. Jack Ma couldn't get a job at KFC,
He founded Alibaba and retired at age 55

LESSONS:
1. Age is just a number.
2. Only those who keep trying will succeed.

FOR THE LAST BUT ONE I FOUND MOST IMPRESSIVE:
Lamborghini was founded as a result of the revenge of a tractor owner who was insulted by Enzo Ferrari, the founder of Ferrari.

LESSONS:
Never underestimate anyone, ever!
Just keep working hard.
Invest your time wisely.
Don't be afraid to fail.
Let's go!

02/01/2022

Huge milestone for Kashmir’s entrepreneurs: FastBeetle becomes first startup to raise $100,000

Sheikh Samiullah, CEO and the co-founder of FastBeetle told in an exclusive interaction that the fresh funding will be utilised in expanding the operations to several rural districts of the union territory including South Kashmir as well as Jammu regions.

Logistics tech platform headquartered in Srinagar, FastBeetle, has become the first Kashmiri startup to raise $100,000 in a pre-Series A funding round led by a clutch of angel investors including Sandeep Patel from Nepra, entrepreneurship evangelist Saurabh Mittal, Vikram Sanghvi, Rohit Qamra, and a few non-resident Kashmiris. Existing investors Kartikeya Desai and Anuj Sharma also participated in the current round. Sheikh Samiullah, CEO and the co-founder of FastBeetle told in an exclusive interaction that the fresh funding will be utilised in expanding the operations to several rural districts of the union territory including South Kashmir as well as Jammu regions. He added that the startup is also aiming to use the funding in marketing, promotion, and overhauling of IT infrastructure as well as hiring employees.

“We are very bullish on hiring local talent from the valley and will use this funding opportunity to create employment opportunities in J&K,” FastBeetle co-founder said.

Both Samiullah and Abid Rashid Lone co-founded FastBeetle in 2019 aiming to disrupt the conventional delivery sector of the valley and making inroads into the e-commerce industry, which was still at the nascent stage. However, months-long communication breakdown due to internet unavailability hammered the startup sector, blocking channels to fund-access. “We even approached the government run Entrepreneurship Development Institute and were promised Rs 10 lakh as initial financial support for the upstart, which we couldn’t get,” Samiullah said.

The company provides inbound and outbound full-stack logistics services across 19,000 pin codes throughout India and overseas and works with over 800+ micro-entrepreneurs and SMEs, of which 60 per cent are run by women, helping drive entrepreneurship in the region and providing critical services in areas not serviced by larger companies.

It recently announced strategic tie-ups with Amazon and Flipkart to enable last mile logistics in several pin codes in Kashmir and to use the funding to strengthen the team and expand business operations to all districts including Jammu, as well as in the adjacent union territory of Ladakh. The company has grown steadily after its selection last year at a special incubation program held in Srinagar by ALSiSAR Impact, a double bottom line impact incubator and transaction advisory firm, that has a special focus on frontier markets and the Himalayan region. “FastBeetle is a great example of the type of social enterprise that is much needed to spread the benefits of growth to underserved regions. ALSiSAR Impact is proud to have supported the founders from an early stage,” said Anuj Sharma, Founder and CEO of ALSiSAR Impact. Despite the growth in VC and impact investing in India over the last few years, non-metro regions and frontier markets especially in Himalayan region seldom receive early-stage investment and support. This is one of the first such investments in the region that is full of potential for both social and economic impact. It also signals to other capable entrepreneurs in the valley that it is possible to raise funds to build a scalable enterprise, the company said in a statement.

FastBeetle said that it wants to champion local businesses across all of Jammu & Kashmir by empowering them with tech-based solutions and reliable end-to-end logistic needs. Locally referred to as ‘Beetles’ the start-up has demonstrated the ability to overcome the difficult connectivity issues that have long plagued the business sector in the Valley and become the catalysing force for Kashmiri entrepreneurs with its last-mile delivery and logistics services.

Reported by Bismah Malik (Business Today)

20/08/2020

Good news for youngsters of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh who want to have career in Event Management, Set and Art direction , Fashion Photography, Fashion design, Graphic design, Animation, Brand management and other related fields. Apply in NIFT Srinagar . Online application open till 18th September 2020.