Meet The Dalit Entrepreneur Who Rose From Selling Discarded Coal To Running A ₹50 Crore-Plus Tile Business

Every now and then, you hear about someone who started with nothing and, through sheer grit, built a life most people only dream about. These stories stick with us. They make us believe that no matter how tough things get, there’s always a way forward if you don’t give up.

Who is Savitaben Parmar? 

Savitaben Parmar’s story is one of those. She faced all kinds of struggles, money problems, social hurdles, you name it and still managed to become one of India’s top industrialists.

People in Gujarat know her as Savitaben Kolsawala, or Koyalawali. She’s famous now, but things weren’t always this way. There was a time when she walked the streets, pushing a cart, selling coal house to house. Now she’s a millionaire. Honestly, her journey from poverty to building an empire feels like something straight out of a movie.

Savitaben Parmar Went From Selling Coal to Running a Multinational Business

Savitaben grew up in Ahmedabad in a Dalit family that barely scraped by. Her husband worked as a conductor for the city bus service, but even after a full day’s work, their family still struggled to put food on the table. Things kept getting harder, so Savitaben decided she had to do something. The catch? She couldn’t read or write, and that made it almost impossible to find work.

She tried everything, but nobody wanted to hire her. At that point, she took matters into her own hands. Her parents used to sell coal, so she decided to follow in their footsteps. But she didn’t even have enough money to buy coal to start with. So, she did what she had to she started collecting leftover coal from mills, then sold it door to door.

Savitaben Parmar’s Journey From Poverty to Power

It wasn’t just money that made things tough. Because she was a Dalit woman, people wouldn’t trust her. Shopkeepers and coal traders refused to do business with her. They thought, “What if she runs off with our goods?” That kind of bias made everything harder.

Still, she didn’t quit. Day after day, she pushed her cart through the streets, meeting new customers and slowly building trust. After years of hard work, her efforts finally started to pay off. She saved up, opened a small coal shop, and soon, she started getting orders from small factories. One day, a ceramicist placed a big order, and that’s when things changed. She started visiting factories, delivering coal, collecting payments, learning the ropes.

Inspired by what she saw, she decided to try something new: she set up a small ceramic kiln.

How Savitaben Parmar Became One of India’s Top Businesswomen

Savitaben Parmar focused on quality and fair prices, and pretty soon, her business took off. She kept growing, year after year. In 1989, she launched Premier Ceramics. By 1991, she had founded Sterling Ceramics Limited and was sending her products to customers all over the world.

Now, Savitaben Parmar stands among India’s most successful businesswomen. She has a fleet of luxury cars Audi, Pajero, BMW, Mercedes and lives in a sprawling ten-bedroom bungalow in one of Ahmedabad’s best neighborhoods.

All of this, built from scratch, starting with nothing but determination and the will to keep going.

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