Economics Graduate To Paper Mogul, How Poonam Gupta Built Rs 800 Crore Empire – News18

Poonam Gupta, originally from Delhi, has steered her company, PG Paper, to an annual turnover of Rs 800 crore, with a presence in 60 countries, achieving remarkable success. However, just a few years ago, Poonam found herself at a career impasse. Despite holding an MBA degree, she was unable to secure employment and remained jobless. Poonam had recently relocated to Scotland with her husband, where her job applications were repeatedly rejected due to her perceived lack of experience. Frustrated by the corporate job hunt, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

Recognising the potential of recycling waste paper and converting it into reusable paper, Poonam embarked on a journey to establish PG Paper two decades ago, investing Rs 1 lakh into the venture. Starting from a room in her home, the company has since expanded its operations to multiple countries, including India, Britain, the United States, and China.

Poonam Gupta serves as the CEO of PG Paper. She was born in Delhi, pursued Economics Honors at Lady Shri Ram College, and subsequently obtained her MBA. In 2002, she married Puneet Gupta, who was working in Scotland, leading Poonam to join her husband in the country.

While in Scotland, Poonam observed that waste paper posed a significant challenge for large corporations, who had to incur substantial expenses to dispose of it. She conceived the idea of creating a product from recycled paper. After ten months of intensive research, she found that it was possible to produce usable paper from waste paper. With an initial investment of Rs 1 lakh, Poonam commenced recycling used paper from her home in 2003. She placed an order for two containers of paper from India, and the company made substantial profits right from the beginning. Following this initial success, Poonam remained resolute and unrelenting. She began procuring used paper from various countries, recycling it, producing high-quality paper, and marketing it on a global scale.

PG Paper’s product portfolio encompasses a wide range of paper types, including newsprint, folding boxboard, printing paper, packaging paper, specialized paper, and paper glossary. Poonam Gupta anticipates that PG Paper’s revenue will surpass Rs 1000 crore in the upcoming fiscal year.