This 1st-gen preneur makes it big in realty through professionalism, diligence

From a humble beginning of constructing 20 units in 2000, Mana Projects has emerged as one of the major real estate players in Bengaluru in the span of 25 years. And most of the credit for such stupendous growth goes to its Founder, D Kishore Reddy. A first generation entrepreneur with professional work ethics, Reddy has made it big in the real estate industry, where people without the right pedigree, connections and backing don’t prosper. But Kishore Reddy has proved that with grit, determination and work ethics, an entrepreneur can rise on his/her own merit.

“In 1997-98, we were exposed to real estate sector but that period, time was tough for the real estate sector. In 2000, we started our first real estate project. We had a humble beginning of constructing 20 units. Slowly, we started increasing our footprint in Bangalore,” D Kishore Reddy toldBizz Buzz.

He explained how the company survived the onslaught of global financial crisis in 2008-09 period. To tide over this difficult period, the company took up contracting work in construction space and focussed on capacity building. “We took some contracting work of projects. We stayed prepared for the next cycle of growth,” Reddy said. And from 2010, there is looking back for the company. “From 2010 onwards, demand for real estate projects started picking up. The training and capacity building done during 2008-10 period helped us to launch bigger projects. We were able to launch branded projects and greenfield projects post this period. From 2010 onwards, we saw accelerated growth,” he said.

Currently, Mana Projects is a dominant player in the eastern part of Bangalore. The real estate firm, so far, has completed projects spanning 15 million sq ft. Around 30 projects have been completed so far by the realtor, while another seven projects are being executed as of now. In the IT capital of India, where listed players like Sobha, Prestige, Puravankara, Brigade and many others are competing intensely for market share, Mana Projects has made its own space under the leadership of Kishore Reddy.

As a first-generation entrepreneur, Reddy’s work ethics and employee-friendly policies have played a vital role in shaping up the future of the company. For instance, Mana Projects didn’t fire a single person during the COVID pandemic period when the industry was facing one of the toughest periods of the century. “We focussed on capacity building through training. Every morning, we have remote calls with our teams to keep the morale high. That capacity building is helping us now,” Reddy said. With around 200 people on their direct rolls, and thousands of jobs created indirectly, Reddy has been one of the pioneers in the job creators’ space.