The Boy carrying a Bundle of Books-
Mr. Rizwan Sajan Founder of Danube Group

by Priyanka Vaidya

A young lad named Rizwan carried a shabby cloth bag filled with books as he went door to door in the winding alleys of Ghatkopar, Mumbai. One door at a time, he was selling optimism rather than books or encyclopaedias. His grit had turned into a thriving business, thanks to the ₹1,000 loaned from a relative.

Early life had not been kind. When Rizwan was sixteen years old, his father died. No estate. No security blanket. Only a family in need of sustenance and a future.

He therefore sold school stationery in busy marketplaces, carried milk before dawn, and made money selling firecrackers around Diwali. His ambition was simply to be out of poverty, not to be wealthy.

He was given an opportunity at the age of eighteen when his uncle in Kuwait invited him. He began his career at the bottom of a constructing materials company there. Rizwan saw opportunity where most saw cement and tiles. He discovered. He raced. He spoke less and listened more. However, everything collapsed once the Gulf War struck, and he came home empty-handed.

Failure, however, did not frighten him. He thought about Ghatkopar.

He brought a bag and a secret promise when he arrived in Dubai in 1993: “This time, I won’t give up until I establish something real.” He founded Danube, a modest trading business that sold building supplies, with very little in his possession. It was honest, but it wasn’t glitzy.

Years went by. Gradually, it started off, then grew like wildfire, from skyscrapers to sanitary ware, from building supplies to interior design. He established Danube Properties by 2014 and developed the ground-breaking 1% payment plan, which enables middle-class families to acquire opulent properties with modest monthly payments.

The child with the book bag was suddenly referred to as “Dubai’s 1% Man”—not because he owned 1%, but because he helped millions of people purchase their first homes.

Rizwan Sajan never forgot the gritty streets of Ghatkopar, even though he now towers high in the Dubai skyline. “Success isn’t defined by what you establish for yourself,” he frequently says. It’s the number of people who are able to build through you.

A boy carrying a backpack full of novels would smile and continue to walk elsewhere.