A 25-year old entrepreneur from India receives a rare international honour in Europe
Niranjan Ovhal, has won a top global entrepreneur award in
The Netherlands for making quality simulated racing/PC gaming equipment affordable for
many in developing countries. His award, given at The Hague, is an international honour for
India and a global recognition for Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST), a socio-economic
initiative that mentors budding grassroots entrepreneurs like him from vulnerable
backgrounds.
Ovhal, 25, from Pune, who owns Simforge Engineering, India’s first and only sim racing gear
manufacturer, exports his products to 43 countries. He won the Youth Business
International Global Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 Award in the COVID Resilience
category.
“BYST is proud to have mentored and supported Niranjan Ovhal. By manufacturing and
selling global standard sim racing gear at affordable price points, he has created new sim
racing communities across 43 countries. Ovhal turned the pandemic and all the challenges it
brought with it, into growth opportunities. Helping entrepreneurs build risk-proof and
sustainable businesses has always been our goal. I’d like to express my gratitude to YBI for
recognizing grassroots entrepreneurs on their credible platform and giving them much
needed motivation.” Ms. Lakshmi Venkataraman Venkatesan, Founding and Managing
Trustee, BYST, said while she accepted the honour on behalf of Ovhal.
Ovhal’s Simforge Engineering, a start-up based out of Pune, has now been put on the global
map and emerged as an international brand, making India proud, true to its vision of self-
reliance.
“Under the guidance of BYST mentors, I was able to successfully navigate many practical
problems that threatened my business continuity. During the pandemic, more people were
stuck at home wanting to play video games, but many quality auto racing games were
unaffordable. This inspired me to build an India solution affordable to many,” Ovhal said in a
statement.
Ovhal’s mission is to start manufacturing the entire Sim Racing ecosystem, and he plans to
set up offices in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. His vision is to see a sim
racing setup in every home in India. He hopes to see more international motorsport drivers
emerge from developing countries.
About Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust
Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST) is a not-for-profit organisation. We assist disadvantaged
Indian youth develop their business ideas into viable enterprises under the guidance of a
mentor. Founded in 1992, BYST was supported by industry stalwarts like JRD Tata and Rahul
Bajaj. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is our strategic partner.
BYST programmes support underprivileged young entrepreneurs by arranging loans through
our partner banks (total financing: almost Rs. 500 crores, median value: approximately Rs. 5
lakhs), without security or collateral.
Entrepreneurs are also nurtured through services such as training, business plan
development, monitoring, mentoring, and networking, till they reach a level of self-
sufficiency and start making valuable contributions to society.
In 30 years, BYST has supported nearly 12,000 entrepreneurs who have generated Rs. 5,000
crores wealth and helped create over 3,50,000 jobs.
For more details, please visit www.byst.org.in.
