Ecovia is a startup working on offering packaging as a service solution to enable online businesses to switch to reusable packaging by incentivising the end-user to return it. Ecovia aims to pioneer reusable packaging in India and disrupt the space as Flipkart did with e-commerce.

While e-commerce and related aspects have evolved, packaging has seen no major technological or business model innovations. The drive to bring about a change in the way packaging is looked at in India was the key inspiration behind the startup, Dhwani says. Ecovia aims to have a national presence in five years and sees itself driving a change in the consumer mindset, with packaging not being dumped but returned. Going ahead, the startup also wants to work to end packaging waste. What was both exciting and difficult for the team was the fact that there was no precedent, and this was the first time reusable packaging was being introduced for e-commerce in India.

Dhwani’s favourite innovator is Elon Musk “for his unique ability to achieve what very few thought was possible”.

When feeling uninspired, the innovator takes a step back to introspect, and based on the result, she either takes a break or hits reset and gets back to chasing her goals. Dhwani says women entrepreneurs can be encouraged to become innovators by making knowledge, network, and capital accessible. Up-skilling women can bridge the gender gap in entrepreneurship, she believes. She says she has not let the glass ceiling affect her progress and has always stood up for herself. 

“It has been really helpful and gave a lot of clarity in our approach and vision,” Dhwani says about her journey with herSTART 2.0.

Her favourite quote: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.”