Enterprise Reshapes Surat’s Identity Through Unceasing Effort and Expanding Opportunities

Kailash Hakim, who I spoke of in point 3 above, puts it interestingly: “We are milk suppliers. And others brand it to sell—like Amul or Sumul. Milkmen never became rich. Only brand owners do. That’s why Surat’s “milk” can’t be exported. We must process it into ‘butter, paneer, cheese’ here itself. My thought—and of others in the association that I lead—is this: the faster we bring garmenting culture into Surat, the faster our revenue and employment will rise. We have the enterprise, many have moved to the next level, but a lot more remains.”

The Founder of Himanee Fashions, Hakim, Chairman of the Federation of Surat Trade and Textile Association (FOSTTA), underscores how entrepreneurship demands more in a city that has grown organically to emerge as the country’s largest hub for synthetic fashion—from greige to shelf and everything in between; where start-ups proliferated, soared or crashed long before start-ups became a thing.

Hakim came to Surat in 1995 while preparing for the administrative services. Equipped with just his education and short of resources, which meant that he had also spent nights at the railway station, he volunteered to work as a clerk at a salary of ₹1,500 at a yarn factory. He was asked to join from the first, but he preferred to gird up from the day of the interview and within six months, he claims, he had learnt “everything—sales, payment collection, accounting, production.” He worked almost round the clock with no weekends and by the end of the sixth month his salary rose to ₹10,000.

Thereafter he started brokerage which is commission agent work. But brokerage money comes after 12 months, and he found himself broke, also with broken health, but the never say never attitude saw him eventually save ₹70,000. He then asked a friend from Rajasthan to come to Surat and with another person, to start a shop. This was 1997. Brokerage continued and by 2000, they had opened their second shop, he left brokerage and it was after about four–five years that the growth period began and he kept expanding as he opened two printing mills, dyeing units, embroidery units. “I built an industry of ₹200 crore in 25 years; my son built the same in a year.”

The ecosystem has evolved over the years, moving from primarily cotton to polyester in the mid-Sixties. And so has the strength and the concomitant weaknesses. Roughly four to six crore metres of fabric are produced daily—about the same volume woven, processed, and sold, informs Jitendra Vakharia, Partner at Narayan Processors and Director at Pandesara Infrastructure Limited, apart from being the president of the South Gujarat Textile Processors Association.

Collaboration between likeminded businesses and friends is quite the feature in the business landscape here. Hakim’s is a case in point and then instance one as above who spoke on conditions of anonymity. When Anonymous came to Surat, it was the usual trial and error after finally narrowing down to fabrics and then expanding by roping in three more partners, one including his brother.

“What we did and what so many in our generation did was a start-up. It has become a trend to use this nomen but what people like us did not release till we were at the deep end, that the journey will almost always be a roller-coaster.”

It never feels like just a partnership, it’s a shared understanding, the entrepreneurs agree, adding that the biggest lesson is “learning how to learn. Learning isn’t a one-time event; it’s an everyday process.” And that’s what Surat teaches you. Once you take the plunge, you learn to wade through the chaos to find and create your own niche.

Another case in point is True Colors, a 230-crore startup, that has emerged as a vertically integrated ecosystem for digital fabric printing, from machinery to sublimation paper, inks, printing services and countrywide support. An IPO under its belt, it began with four friends borrowing ₹4 lakh to lease a 10x15 feet basement to a now sweeping 2,00,000 square feet facility. “Although we came together as friends, we now play to our strengths,” says Sanjay Desai, Co-Founder and Director.

A start-up is a tough call and though not all can succeed, many do. Bikash Jha as in instance 4 above, is from Bihar. He came to Surat in 2002 with no degree or any other resource. He claims to have worked free for a year to learn the job and today “I pay ₹30–40 lakh tax annually. Here, if a man works honestly, he will progress.”

Diligence, experience can bring growth. “A machine operator can be a manager ten years later. Surat’s system rewards hard work,” he asserts.

“Progress is in your hands. Elsewhere it depends on recommendations, but in Surat performance matters. If an operator is smart, he can be a supervisor soon. Yes, the work is tough—heat, pressure, harsh language sometimes—because production is target-driven. If output drops, pressure flows down the chain. Still, no one remains jobless. People grow even without formal education.”

Jha processes 8–10 lakh meters of cloth daily. Around 250 people work in the mill where he sits, with barely a second to spare as swatch after swatch land on his desk to check colour uniformity.

Ajay Ajmera, owner of Ajmera Fashion, as mentioned in instance 2 above, has some advice for those who want to grow in this city. “Don’t wait for the perfect conditions. Start small but start. I began with limited funds and faced failures, but consistency works miracles. Even ₹25,000 can begin a business if you’re sincere. Money comes later; courage and honesty are the first investments.”

Entrepreneurship comes with its own set of pitfalls and fraud cases are not rare in Surat. According to Ashok Jirawala, President of the Federation of Gujarat Weaver's Welfare Association (FOGWA), Surat sees 25–50 new fraud cases every day.

When new traders come from other states, they open shop, buy goods on credit for a few months, pay properly at first to build trust, and then vanish after taking large consignments—₹20–₹25 lakh or more. They sell the fabric quickly in cash elsewhere and disappear.

Legal recourse is the way to go and trade bodies like FOSTAA and FOGWA do pitch in to help, but it is a long haul till justice arrives. Hakim begins his day at the FOSTAA office with a stream of people coming in seeking help or him egging people to file their complaints.

The industry now looks askance at the government to strengthen the MSMEs. The textile industry here forms the “core of MSME-based employment”, says Jirawala, who is also vice-president elect of the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI)

Keeping MSMEs alive should be the government’s top priority. Bulk employment in India is generated by MSMEs, not by large corporates. Surat alone provides employment to about 18-25 lakh people. And the enterprising spirit of this city needs a bigger push to take it to the next level.