IIM Bangalore hosts roundtable on Purple Economy
Themed ‘Unlocking $18 Trillion in Global Opportunity’, the conversations, led by EnAble India, highlighted the value that can be created when inclusion meets business, and the speakers urged businesses to leverage data to become purple-aware
2 June, 2025, Bengaluru: Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) hosted a Purple Economy dialogue themed ‘Unlocking $18 Trillion in Global Opportunity’, where leaders from diverse industries gathered to explore the intersection of disability accessibility and the transformative potential of disability-related products and services for the broader economy, this afternoon. Specifically, the discussion highlighted how products and services that centre accessibility can reshape markets, enhance innovation pipelines, and deliver sustainable value across the value chain spectrum.
IIM Bangalore, an institution committed to inclusive excellence, ensured that the event itself was fully accessible, with sign language interpreters and real-time text display. In his message, Prof. Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore, said IIMB was excited about the concept of the purple economy and added that the Institute, which is committed to inclusion, would love to be part of this growing economy.
In her welcome address, Dr. Mukta Kulkarni, Dean of Academic Programmes and Professor in the OBHRM area at IIMB, acknowledged Dr. Meenu Bhambhani, who was instrumental in setting up IIMB’s Inclusion Chair, EnAble India and Ms. Shanti Raghavan for the collaboration. Prof. Mukta Kulkarni, whose scholarship has shaped global conversations on accessibility and workplace inclusion, said: “Accessibility isn’t just a disability issue – it is a social and economic opportunity. For example, investing in accessible public transportation and walkways doesn’t only serve persons with disabilities; it also supports parents with strollers, ageing populations, and workers with temporary injuries. Inclusive design or accessibility increases civic engagement, broadens the customer base for local businesses, reduces long-term public costs, and strengthens the overall economy.”
Ms Shanti Raghavan, Founder, EnAble India, explained the origins of the purple economy. “Over the past 25 years, EnAble India has recognized and demonstrated the intrinsic value of every individual. Today, 81% of the population we serve are economically independent and contribute significantly to household incomes. We now want to shift the narrative for the active taxpayers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and nation builders we work with, and we want to scale with a sense of urgency. There has been a fantastic rights movement that has taken us along , but we realise that we have to move from rights-based to value-based,” she said.
According to Ms Shanti Raghavan, when society, markets, and governments align, more can be achieved. “We are now focused on addressing the economic angle, where there is a 5-10 per cent GDP loss when value is not seen in people with disability. The general population needs to see the double multiplier effect – Products and services designed for persons with disabilities often benefit and create opportunity for all. This is the new economy. There are 1 billion people with disability across the world.” Sharing the example of the eyewear industry, she pointed out that without proper eyewear and corrective lenses, most people would be considered persons with disability. “Today, spectacles are normalized, and eyewear is a $170 billion industry.” Ms. Raghavan also shared EnAble India’s recent collaboration with Namma Yatri, Bengaluru’s ride-hailing platform, to make the platform “purple-aware.” Through this partnership, drivers are trained to engage effectively with customers with disabilities, supported by short instructional videos that become available the moment a purple ride is booked.
Dr. Vasanthi Srinivasan, Chairperson, IIMBx and Professor in the OBHRM area at IIMB, spoke about the potential of the purple economy.
Dipesh Sutariya, a Co-Founder and CEO of EnAble Indiaencouraged individuals and organizations to take the purple-aware pledge and become ambassadors of inclusion by actively spreading awareness. “Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) was the first to sign up and set up a free-of-cost sensory room in Terminal 2 along with accessibility enhanced areas; NDTV is making the purple-aware pledge viral, Lowe Lintas made a 30-second video on the untapped potential of the purple economy for NDTV; Rameswaram Café at BIAL’s Terminal 1, opposite Gate 34, is accessible to persons in wheelchairs – a total of 18 organisations signed up in a week of us launching the purple economy movement. We can create momentum by celebrating such efforts.” He also outlines future directions with the creation of purple capital through impact funds, and purple insurance to address longstanding gaps in insurance coverage for persons with disabilities.
Moses Chowdari Gorrepati, COO of EnAble India, shared anecdotes from his personal life to show why a purple economy matters. For instance, he spoke of how a family friend in his village in Andhra Pradesh, a tailor by profession, actually shut his shop and lost business for many days in order to accompany Moses and his mother to an eye hospital in New Delhi. “There is a need to ensure that opportunities are created, not lost, when enabling persons with disability. There is a clear need for purple services, and we, as persons with disability, are valuable customers.”
Dr. Meenu Bhambhani, now Head of CSR in a financial services company, spoke of the “12 significant years” she spent with Mphasis as Head of CSR, talked of her association with IIMB in the area of inclusion. She described IIMB as “a model institution when it comes to accessibility”. Speaking of her work with Uber Access and Uber Assist, Dr. Meenu Bhambhani described the challenges and opportunities that ‘samaj-sarkar-bazaar’ threw up. “We saw how ride-hiring apps would become the order of the day, and we got 50 accessible vehicles at certain price points and at certain locations to make the partnership with Uber happen. It took us two-and-a-half years to get permissions from the Regional Transport Office. We provided proof of concept to Samaj-Sarkar and Bazaar. Unfortunately, COVID-19 happened, and today we don’t know where those 50 vehicles are! The biggest learning for us is that unless these vehicles come from the manufacturers themselves, the initiative will not gain the momentum it deserves.”
On the power of the purple rupee, many participants spoke of the revenue that businesses, be they malls without accessible changing rooms, restaurants with no ramps, and hotel rooms with no accessible washrooms, lose when they are not accessible. “Create conditions for success,” they said.
IIM Bangalore hosts roundtable on Purple Economy
Themed ‘Unlocking $18 Trillion in Global Opportunity’, the conversations, led by EnAble India, highlighted the value that can be created when inclusion meets business, and the speakers urged businesses to leverage data to become purple-aware
2 June, 2025, Bengaluru: Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) hosted a Purple Economy dialogue themed ‘Unlocking $18 Trillion in Global Opportunity’, where leaders from diverse industries gathered to explore the intersection of disability accessibility and the transformative potential of disability-related products and services for the broader economy, this afternoon. Specifically, the discussion highlighted how products and services that centre accessibility can reshape markets, enhance innovation pipelines, and deliver sustainable value across the value chain spectrum.
IIM Bangalore, an institution committed to inclusive excellence, ensured that the event itself was fully accessible, with sign language interpreters and real-time text display. In his message, Prof. Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore, said IIMB was excited about the concept of the purple economy and added that the Institute, which is committed to inclusion, would love to be part of this growing economy.
In her welcome address, Dr. Mukta Kulkarni, Dean of Academic Programmes and Professor in the OBHRM area at IIMB, acknowledged Dr. Meenu Bhambhani, who was instrumental in setting up IIMB’s Inclusion Chair, EnAble India and Ms. Shanti Raghavan for the collaboration. Prof. Mukta Kulkarni, whose scholarship has shaped global conversations on accessibility and workplace inclusion, said: “Accessibility isn’t just a disability issue – it is a social and economic opportunity. For example, investing in accessible public transportation and walkways doesn’t only serve persons with disabilities; it also supports parents with strollers, ageing populations, and workers with temporary injuries. Inclusive design or accessibility increases civic engagement, broadens the customer base for local businesses, reduces long-term public costs, and strengthens the overall economy.”
Ms Shanti Raghavan, Founder, EnAble India, explained the origins of the purple economy. “Over the past 25 years, EnAble India has recognized and demonstrated the intrinsic value of every individual. Today, 81% of the population we serve are economically independent and contribute significantly to household incomes. We now want to shift the narrative for the active taxpayers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and nation builders we work with, and we want to scale with a sense of urgency. There has been a fantastic rights movement that has taken us along , but we realise that we have to move from rights-based to value-based,” she said.
According to Ms Shanti Raghavan, when society, markets, and governments align, more can be achieved. “We are now focused on addressing the economic angle, where there is a 5-10 per cent GDP loss when value is not seen in people with disability. The general population needs to see the double multiplier effect – Products and services designed for persons with disabilities often benefit and create opportunity for all. This is the new economy. There are 1 billion people with disability across the world.” Sharing the example of the eyewear industry, she pointed out that without proper eyewear and corrective lenses, most people would be considered persons with disability. “Today, spectacles are normalized, and eyewear is a $170 billion industry.” Ms. Raghavan also shared EnAble India’s recent collaboration with Namma Yatri, Bengaluru’s ride-hailing platform, to make the platform “purple-aware.” Through this partnership, drivers are trained to engage effectively with customers with disabilities, supported by short instructional videos that become available the moment a purple ride is booked.
Dr. Vasanthi Srinivasan, Chairperson, IIMBx and Professor in the OBHRM area at IIMB, spoke about the potential of the purple economy.
Dipesh Sutariya, a Co-Founder and CEO of EnAble Indiaencouraged individuals and organizations to take the purple-aware pledge and become ambassadors of inclusion by actively spreading awareness. “Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) was the first to sign up and set up a free-of-cost sensory room in Terminal 2 along with accessibility enhanced areas; NDTV is making the purple-aware pledge viral, Lowe Lintas made a 30-second video on the untapped potential of the purple economy for NDTV; Rameswaram Café at BIAL’s Terminal 1, opposite Gate 34, is accessible to persons in wheelchairs – a total of 18 organisations signed up in a week of us launching the purple economy movement. We can create momentum by celebrating such efforts.” He also outlines future directions with the creation of purple capital through impact funds, and purple insurance to address longstanding gaps in insurance coverage for persons with disabilities.
Moses Chowdari Gorrepati, COO of EnAble India, shared anecdotes from his personal life to show why a purple economy matters. For instance, he spoke of how a family friend in his village in Andhra Pradesh, a tailor by profession, actually shut his shop and lost business for many days in order to accompany Moses and his mother to an eye hospital in New Delhi. “There is a need to ensure that opportunities are created, not lost, when enabling persons with disability. There is a clear need for purple services, and we, as persons with disability, are valuable customers.”
Dr. Meenu Bhambhani, now Head of CSR in a financial services company, spoke of the “12 significant years” she spent with Mphasis as Head of CSR, talked of her association with IIMB in the area of inclusion. She described IIMB as “a model institution when it comes to accessibility”. Speaking of her work with Uber Access and Uber Assist, Dr. Meenu Bhambhani described the challenges and opportunities that ‘samaj-sarkar-bazaar’ threw up. “We saw how ride-hiring apps would become the order of the day, and we got 50 accessible vehicles at certain price points and at certain locations to make the partnership with Uber happen. It took us two-and-a-half years to get permissions from the Regional Transport Office. We provided proof of concept to Samaj-Sarkar and Bazaar. Unfortunately, COVID-19 happened, and today we don’t know where those 50 vehicles are! The biggest learning for us is that unless these vehicles come from the manufacturers themselves, the initiative will not gain the momentum it deserves.”
On the power of the purple rupee, many participants spoke of the revenue that businesses, be they malls without accessible changing rooms, restaurants with no ramps, and hotel rooms with no accessible washrooms, lose when they are not accessible. “Create conditions for success,” they said.