One of the proudest moments of Ram’s life was when he participated in Indian Idol a few years ago. He sang his way to the top 30 from Delhi NCR, but could not proceed further. An age limit and personal hardships prevented him from competing in later editions, but the fire to follow his dreams had been lit. Although he comes from a modest background, today he hopes to enable his daughter to follow her dreams by enrolling in a dance class.

Two years ago, however, it would have been very difficult for Ram to imagine putting his daughter through a dance school. A small utensil shop owner in Faridabad, 32-year old Ram was struggling to make ends meet. But life took a turn for the better when he heard about an opportunity to join the MENSA (Myntra Extended Network for Service Augmentation) program through a friend who was a partner himself.

MENSA: Adding Value to Life

Ram lives with his wife, three children, and a mother. The earnings from the shop weren’t enough to sustain him and his family. He had tried doing a few odd jobs apart from running the shop, but could not succeed. Besides paying his children’s school fees, Ram needed to take care of his house which was in dire need of repair and had bank loans to pay off. Not only that, he had been wanting to expand his shop but couldn’t do so due to a lack of funds.

With Myntra’s MENSA work taking off, Ram, the sole breadwinner of his family, finally found some breathing space. There was some teething trouble, but according to Ram, the Myntra staff was supportive and helped him learn the ropes. Today his augmented income from Myntra helps him to meet household expenses, pay his children’s fees, manage house repairs, and clear his debts. Soon enough, he will be able to expand his shop and send his daughter to a dance school.

Besides providing financial support, MENSA’s role has been invaluable to Ram’s personal and professional growth. The steady work and customer interactions give him great confidence. He feels proud to be associated with a company like Myntra which has helped many people like him.

During peak events such as Myntra’s flagship End of Reason Sale (EORS) and Big Fashion Days, he gets unconditional support from his family. “My wife and mother take care of the shop while I’m busy with deliveries during the sale period,” he adds.

Myntra’s MENSA program started by reaching out to a few Kirana store owners to help with deliveries during their lean hours. Today, the network has over 15000 stores across 50 cities.