Dilseng M Sangma is one of the Top-50 entrepreneurs of Cohort 1 and the founder of M/s Hills Products. Dilseng hails from a small village named Rongjeng in East Garo Hills. He is a self taught entrepreneur, who manufactures compostable plates and bowls out of arecanut leaves. M/s Hills provides hygienic, non-toxic, light weight, heat resistance, durable and environment friendly arecanut plates and bowls. Through his venture, he intends to create awareness against usage of plastic utensils. He has a good connection with distributors across Meghalaya and plans on expanding outside the state and to neighbouring countries like Bangladesh in the near future. Through the improved marketing channels, he is receiving order inquiries from as far as the Middle East in quantities summing up to many lakhs of plates.

Dilseng was also invited as a guest lecturer to Rongjeng RMSA Secondary School, where he took an hour-long interactive session with 9th and 10th graders. He enlightened the young minds about the growing scope of entrepreneurship in this fast-paced economy. The children also learnt about the various challenges that Dilseng had faced in his entrepreneurial journey and how he strategized to overcome them, eventually making his products stand out and beating competitors. Currently, M/s Hills owns a manufacturing unit in his property with minimum labours. Dilseng recently received a Scale-up Innovation Loan of 14 lakhs with which he is, at this point in time, expanding his unit and procuring machinery for a higher production capacity. He will also refine his products, increase manpower and improve the overall packaging of his products.

Dilseng says, “When I got selected under PRIME, it was a whole new learning experience as I had to pitch in front of a jury for the first time ever. I have gained knowledge through various bootcamps, especially when it comes to social media marketing, online platforms, finance, and collaboration.”