These women auto drivers from Chennai took IIM by storm

How Veera Pengal Munnetra Sangam, a cooperative of women auto drivers in Chennai, impressed at Coop 2024, a competition at IIM-Kozhikode

Divya M sat nervously on a chair, as she watched discussions on cooperative entrepreneurship, a term she could hardly pronounce.

At IIM-Kozhikode recently for a competition, Divya, part of a five-member team from Chennai, was clueless at first. “I sat an entire day without understanding what was happening,” recalls Divya, an autorickshaw driver.

“Everyone spoke English. Some people were keying something in their laptops. Everything sounded important, but all we did was stare.”

In the next couple of days, the Chennai team — women who spoke Tamil and were hardly fluent in English — warmed up to the occasion. When it was time for their presentation, they spoke from the heart, about the problems that plague auto drivers in Chennai.

“We spoke about our lives and what steps we are taking to raise our standard of living,” she says.

Divya, part of a team of women auto drivers that calls themselves Veera Pengal Munnetra Sangam (VPMS), won the first prize in Coop 2024, a competition aimed at promoting cooperative entrepreneurship. Apart from a cash prize of ₹50,000, they will also have a year-long mentorship programme to help develop their cooperative enterprise.

Veera Pengal Munnetra Sangam, registered in April 2024 and currently comprising about 400 women auto drivers, is trying to ensure better working conditions and monetary benefits for its members.