Mirakle Couriers— Delivering Possibilities: A Courier Service Employing Underprivileged Deaf Adults

About the Project

Mirakle Couriers is a Mumbai-based social enterprise that provides underprivileged deaf adults with meaningful employment in the logistics industry.

DEAF EMPOWERMENT

It is estimated that 6% of India’s population suffers from some kind of hearing loss. 32% suffer from profound deafness and 39% suffer from severe hearing loss, resulting in one of the largest deaf populations in the world. Poor education coupled with discrimination leave a staggering 66% of the deaf unemployed. (Disabled persons in India NSS 58th Round, Pg. 21, 35)

Unable to support themselves or to become productive members of their households and society, they are entirely dependent on their families. As a result of this, a deaf child or relative is often considered a burden, even a curse, and becomes heavily resented by their already financially-strained relatives.

Mirakle Couriers aims to address this situation by providing deaf adults with steady, meaningful, dignified employment, thus empowering them to become self-sufficient, able to participate confidently and independently in society. We employ and train deaf adults for all aspects of a courier service. Pick-ups and deliveries are performed by deaf men, while office work, like mail sorting and data processing, is managed by deaf women, who are trained in office essentials such as Microsoft Excel, email literacy, and archive management.

The deaf often have excellent spatial and navigational capabilities, and are able use public transportation to find their way to delivery destinations, thus delivering documents to both corporate customers and individual homes easily and efficiently. We take advantage of the proliferation of mobile phones and cheap texting-messaging plans in India to facilitate communication with and between our employees.

Our couriers wear bright orange t-shirts and caps marked with our logo, making them easy to recognize. This helps us build brand familiarity, but more importantly, it helps our boys gradually build a rapport with our clients. If you happen to spot one of our Mirakles on the street, feel free to smile and wave.

LOGISTICAL EXCELLENCE

Mirakle Couriers aims to be a fully integrated player in the logistics sector offering a range of service options including, but not limited to, pick-ups, delivery, tracking, multiple payment options, and customizable solutions. These services are especially crucial in Mumbai, the financial capital of India and the commercial hub for businesses. The volume of bills, documents, contracts, cheques, and administrative paperwork alone is extremely high, and requires a super-efficient, locally savvy logistics network. We want to plug into that network.

For pick-ups and deliveries outside Mumbai, we are working on partnerships with leading international logistics players. Such large courier companies do not have the scale to reach out to all local clients. We aim to serve and streamline the “last-mile” of the delivery process, taking over from international couriers for the local leg of the delivery journey.

We also intend to gradually scale our operations to multiple cities in India. An intra and inter city courier service will require a widespread network with a large number of staff, allowing us to employ more and more deaf, and make a significant dent in the 66% unemployed.

Our esteemed clients include Aditya Birla Group, DSP Black Rock, JSW Ltd, Godrej & Boyce, and IDFC, as well as social entrepreneurs such as Under The Mango Tree and No Nasties.

RECOGNITION

Mirakle has already won a number of awards, including the National Award for the Empowerment of People with Disabilities presented by the President of India, the Highest Civilian Award from the State Government of Jammu & Kashmir, the Helen Keller Award for being a role model employer for people with disabilities, the CNN IBN Young Leader Award, and an Echoing Green Fellowship.

Project Action Plan

Project Action Plan

1Mirakle Couriers wants to employ more deaf adults in Mumbai. This involves extensive outreach. We aim to employ 100 more deaf adults in the coming months.

Mirakle Couriers wants to employ more deaf adults in Mumbai. This involves extensive outreach. We aim to employ 100 more deaf adults in the coming months.
Located in:,

2We have successfully implemented the model in Mumbai and we now need to scale our operations to other cities in India such as Bengaluru.

We have successfully implemented the model in Mumbai and we now need to scale our operations to other cities in India such as Bengaluru.
Located in:,

3Mirakle Couriers wants to partner with companies in the burgeoning e-commerce space to venture into high-value and high-priority deliveries. This requires significant investment in capital and information technology systems.

Mirakle Couriers wants to partner with companies in the burgeoning e-commerce space to venture into high-value and high-priority deliveries. This requires significant investment in capital and information technology systems.
Located in:,

Why should you vote for this project?

  •  - YOUR VOTE WILL HELP DEAF INDIA RISE: Mirakle Couriers is one of the very few social enterprises working with India's huge deaf population - 6-8% - which has an extremely high unemployment rate - 66%
  • - YOUR VOTE WILL GIVE THEIR BUSINESS A BOOST: Mirakle Couriers is a business. This means their work is sustainable. The grand money you help them win will be capital they can use to expand operations, hiring more deaf people and providing more businesses with excellent courier services.
  • - YOUR VOTE WILL IMPROVE THE LOGISTIC INDUSTRY: Mirakle Couriers is leading the charge of employing differently-abled people in the logistrics industry. The scope for meaningful employment and socially responsible business practices in this burgeoning sector is huge. By supporting them, you make them an example of success for others in the industry.

Who will this help Rise

India's vast deaf population, 66% of which is unemployed.

How will this help them Rise?

Hand-Held Scanners,Label and Barcode Printer,Weighing Scale

Project Champion

Dhruv Lakra

Dhruv Lakra
Oxford MBA Skoll Scholar Echoing Green Fellow Social Entrepreneur

Project Location

This Project Needs

Equipments
5 Hand-Held Scanners
1 Label and Barcode Printer
1 Weighing Scale

Funding
₹5000000

Can you contribute any of the above?

Project Keywords

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