Receives funding of 50 lacs for her anti-bullying app
Anoushka Jolly, class VIII student of Pathways School’s is the youngest contestant to pitch her entrepreneurial idea to the country’s leading investors at Shark Tank India. Jolly is running her social enterprise, Anti-Bullying Squad (ABS) for the last 3+ years, aimed at spreading awareness about bullying which leaves many scarred and desolated. While at it, she realized that most of these incidents do not get reported and hence do not get resolved. So, she came up with the idea of creating a bullying reporting mobile app KAVACH to anonymously report bullying incidents that was very well received by the judges, two of whom even stepped forward to invest in her app at Rs. 50 lac in valuation to help KAVACH widen its scale and reach. These investors are Anupam Mittal, founder and CEO of People Group (shaadi.com) and Aman Gupta, co-founder of boat. Jolly was highly appreciated by Namita Thapar, CEO of Emcure Pharmaceuticals and India Head of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy.
Shark Tank India is the country’s indigenous version of Shark Tank, the world’s leading entrepreneurial reality show. In India, the show, launched and telecasted by SONY TV, is currently running its first season and selected only 198 candidates out of 50,000 applications. Anoushka Jolly from Pathways MYP 3 was one of these sieved out for her anonymous bullying reporting app ABS- KAVACH. ABS is a web platform that organises individual one-on-one sessions in schools, with the help of experts. The platform also allows people to better understand bullying, its consequences, along with taking a pledge to reduce the issue substantially. ABS also sells anti-bullying merchandise. Through this venture, Anoushka has also spread awareness about body positivity, self-love, and cyberbullying. ABS has reached out and helped over 2 thousand students in India. Now with the investment from the Shark Tank investors, she is looking forward to launching a new app, called Kavach, to reach more children and hold webinars and talks all across the country as well as the world to propagate the anti-bullying message.
On the occasion, Capt. Rohit Sen Bajaj, Director, Pathways School Gurgaon, said, “We take immense pride in spirit and passion of Anoushka Jolly whose work towards eliminating bullying in schools and campuses is not only educating many about the issue but also empowering young and old to stand up for themselves and for others. She began her journey with us at Pathways School Gurgaon and being a Pathwaysian, we wish her remarkable success in this and all her future endeavours. We truly believe in her exceptional capabilities and will continue to support her in all possible manners.”
The 13-year-old is running three ventures InnerArk Blocktech Private Limited(Bringing Metaverse to Mental Health), Anti Bullying Squad (ABS), and Kavach(The Bullying reporting Mobile App).