“Collaborating with Shark Tank India 4 was a very good experience” – Alok Kejriwal

As the founder and CEO of India Signing Hands Private Limited, Alok Kejriwal has carried out several initiatives to empower individuals who suffer from hearing impairment or deafness. Recently, Kejriwal spearheaded a special episode for Shark Tank India called ‘Gateway to Shark Tank India – Divyang Special’. This special episode was put together to empower specially abled individuals with entrepreneurial abilities and dreams.

You led this special initiative for ‘Shark Tank India 4’ which was designed to empower specially abled individuals who are entrepreneurs or wish to embark upon a journey as entrepreneurs. How was the experience of being a part of this initiative?

It was wonderful! I had heard about ‘Shark Tank India’ a long time back. I found the concept of the show very interesting and wished it was accessible to people suffering from deafness. We have been offering interpreter services through our platform for quite some time now. This is the first time ‘Shark Tank India’ did a special episode of this nature. Collaborating with Shark Tank India 4 was a very good experience. I am glad I could contribute and be a part of it.

You have always insisted on being referred to as ‘deaf’ over any other term. Despite suffering from this impairment, you managed to carve a niche for yourself and establish yourself as a successful business person. Do you see a growth in the number of specially abled individuals becoming entrepreneurs?

 Yes, I do see a growth. It is a positive change and we must ensure the number keeps growing. Two years ago, I got an award from the President of India. If I could achieve something, anybody can. To become a successful entrepreneur, you need to identify a gap in the market and work towards filling it. My company has been offering interpreter services to OTT platforms. We are the first ones to do this in India. We have been associated with several notable films including ‘Tiger Nageswara Rao’, ‘83’, ‘Kutch Express’, ‘Gadar 2’, ‘RRR’ and ‘12^th Fail’. We have also had an association with Jio Hotstar for IPL matches.

You were upset about mainstream news channels not catering to the impaired community. This led you towards launching ISH News in 2018.

Everybody in the world should have access to news. Through ISH News, we wanted to provide sign language captions and voice overs in news. We also wanted them to learn sign language through news. Through ISH News, we worked towards making deaf people understand what has been happening around the world.

What are some of things, you believe, the government can do to empower entrepreneurs?

The government is already working towards making a lot of things accessible to the deaf community. Government agencies have introduced several courses for the benefit of those who cannot hear. The National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH) offers a 6-week introductory ISL or Indian Sign Language course that is offered online for free. The government has provided more and more support with time and that is a good thing.