Meet man who grew up in poverty, built Rs 7,400 crore company, started with Rs 25,000 loan

Ande Prathap Reddy is a self-described risk-taker who “obviously made more correct decisions than wrong ones”. Reddy grew up seeing poverty from close up as he walked 10 kilometres to school everyday. That strengthened the Telangana man’s resolve to become a self-made businessman. It inspired him to face struggles and take risks.

Reddy is today a successful industrialist who runs 12 chemical plants and helms the Rs 7,416 crore market cap Balaji Amines. He continues to be a risk-taker and believes it is “an important component of building a sustainable and growth-oriented business,” the business tycoon was recently quoted by Business Today as saying.

Prathap Reddy entered the business world as a 25-year-old dreamer with a Rs 25,000 loan from a bank over 4 decades ago. He built several successful small businesses before deciding to build it big after a decade. This resulted in him venturing into ‘speciality chemicals’ in 1988 with an investment of Rs 3 crore.

Reddy challenged the use of foreign technology in the industry. With local amine technology, he rivaleed competitors at a quarter of the price. His company is today the biggest methylamine manufacturer in India with over 60 percent market share, BT reported. Balaji Amines reported a revenue of Rs 2,300 crore in the financial year 2022. 72-year-old Reddy credits the “risk-taker” and agile approach as being behind his success.