Madi Sharma is the founder and award-winning Entrepreneur behind the Madi
Group. The Madi Group is comprised of private sector sole trader companies, and some nonprofit organizations, with a philosophy to create innovative ideas tailored to local action which can achieve global impacts beneficial to society. Madi titles herself ‘Victim to Changemaker’ as her personal experience has taken her through the University of Life from a victim of domestic violence and single parent through to Entrepreneur and inspirational speaker. She established her first company from her kitchen at home, which grew to two factories and 35 staff. Today, Madi has been termed a ‘social capitalist’ as she invests profits from her work into advocacy and the empowerment of others.
FWM: Tell us about the MADI Group, known as “Make a Difference Ideas.”
My name is Madhu – it means “sweet as honey” in Hindi. My father was Indian and my mother Austrian. I am the eldest of five sisters all born and brought up in the UK. Traditionally Indian, my father wanted a son – It was not to be – but he still nurtured five phenomenal, independent, and multi-skilled daughters. If a man could do it, we could do it! I then married against my parents wishes, at the age of 19, to a man who later psychologically, sexually and physically abused me until at one point I could take no more – I was unable to move for 2 days – I knew my children could be next. Domestic violence begins with the psychological violence – All my smiles, all my affection and love for others, all my hopes and dreams, my ambitions and goals, and any financing I had, were all taken away. I was isolated. Any dignity I had was removed, rape within marriage was still legal at that point. I was worthless, useless, ugly, an embarrassment, someone who became the ideal
punch bag. But how do you leave? – No qualifications, no skills, no training, Asian, female, zero levels of confidence, in poverty and with two small children to care for? What would you do? This was not just my dilemma then, this is the conflict all domestic violence victims wrestle with. It was at that point that I realized I was not alone, there were millions if not billions of women like me across the world. I knew from my visits to India that if the families don’t work, they didn’t eat. That, along with the doctor’s words “This will never stop”, gave me the courage to leave. I had to dig very deep, but I found the strength to walk out with my two daughters, aged 3 and 5, and I never looked back. I searched for jobs, no one would employ me, my resume was empty! The only thing I was proficiently at was cooking. I became a “necessity entrepreneur” – last resort when all other options are exhausted. I started cooking Indian food in my kitchen at home. I went from 4 products a day to 10,000 a week. As the business started to turnover more and more, women from the local school would come in my kitchen and help. One mum would babysit all the younger children in another room. It was a 2 up 2 down house, so space was very limited. As orders grew people spread my story and we were given a factory and I committed to employing those society has chosen to ignore. Amazing men and women like me, unemployed because they were unqualified. Every one of my employees received the title of “Supervisor” – they could now go out into their communities and hold their heads high. It was a new start for all of us. I became Asian woman of Achievement, the UK’s Best Boss and received praise from the Prime Minster.
After 8 years I lost everything due to fraud in a UK government business support service. It was devastating and the way people treated business failures in the UK brought back all the memories of the psychological violence I had faced previously. I couldn’t even open a bank account! BUT, I had been put on the floor and trampled all over before and I was not going to let it happen again. Madhu became MADI – The past was in the past now. I was going to make a difference.
Gucci, Versace, YSL had all registered their names as trade marks because they believed in themselves – so did I, and I registered my name as my brand! I started a new company in import and export of products from women in India – I gave them a market and we created new entrepreneurs in the UK who sold the products around their family and work lives. This lead to an education business, a back office databasing company, a business brokerage and of course the
obligatory consultancy to be able to share the knowledge. This became known as the Madi Group as I became an international speaker and started speaking up for women, youth, the unemployed, the unqualified, the voiceless and of course, domestic violence victims and hence ‘Victim to Changemaker’.
” I have one overarching goal in life – its my Absolute Commitment – to turn 7 billion ideas into action, one for every person on the planet.”
The MADI Group http://madisharma.org/ is made up of a range of profit and not for profit companies with the overarching ambition of “local action, global impact”. We have three rules in the company – No CVs (resumes), no business plans and a “No Blame Culture” – everything is my fault if it goes wrong because either my instructions were not clear or my training was inadequate! This means we have an empowered and responsible team working together. The profits made from the company are used to fund my work on the empowerment of women and girls across the world and for advocacy through my global think tank – The Women’s Eco-nomic & Social Think Tank (WESTT). In 2018 I was listed as 1 of Apolitical’s 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy, and in 2021 invited to be the ALL Ladies League, G100 Global Chair Communication & Advocacy.
FWM: What are the important initiatives of today?
I have one overarching goal in life – its my Absolute Commitment – to turn 7 billion ideas into action, one for every person on the planet. Can you image if each of us is given the opportunity to turn one idea into action. We could solve poverty, hunger, stop wars, address the climate emergency….the list is endless. It is not the politicians who will solve the problems, it is us the people. And so, my priority today is to support people into turning their ideas into action. How to get those ideas off the ground, where to start, the small steps you need to take before the momentum starts to roll, and that’s why I wrote my first book, Madi No Excuses! …..because we have to stop the Excuses and the book highlights very simply and clearly how each and every one of us can turn our ideas into action. Oh by the way, I have already helped 33,000 people turn their ideas into action because I have a great way of counting the achievements through the distribution of commitment beads.
Gandhi said “You must be the change you want to see”
Madi says “You must be the change you want to see – No Excuses!”
FWM: ‘Victim to Changemaker’ what does this mean to you?
I have two terms which are used to describe me, Social Capitalist, and Victim to Changemaker. I was honored when someone described me as a social capitalist. It was a term that resonates with me because I am always advocating for people to understand that they cannot help someone else until they can first help themselves. The oxygen mask on an airplane is the best example “Please put your own oxygen mask on BEFORE helping someone else, even your children” – Basically, if you cannot breath you cannot help others. There is nothing selfish in that. I make money through my sustainable business activities, they provide me with profits and that is what allows me to have choices – and it is my choice to use that money to help others. We never donate money, money is an energy which we use where it makes a real difference and continues to circulate to produce more and empower more. I want to take away the victimization we impose on people through the language we use “oh those poor women” “women as minorities” “the
unemployed and unqualified” – this is stereotyping and discriminatory. I “was” a victim of domestic violence, I survived, it made me stronger and now I am a changemaker. I will NEVER be a victim again of any form of abuse, and I want the same for others. If I can do it, so can you. We can support each other.
FWM:Tell us about the important work of the ALL Ladies League.
For years I have been saying on stage – “Put you hand out and pull another person up, it costs nothing but makes a huge difference to the other person’s life” – Very often this is in relation to women, but it applies to everyone. I won a Woman of the Decade Award from the ALL Ladies League several years ago and have been an advocate of their work and especially their founder Dr. Harbeen Arora. She, and all the Soul Sisters, work selflessly to pull other woman up across the world. This mission supports my 7 billion ideas to action and my desire to see greater parity and equality in the world.
This year Dr. Harbeen asked me to Chair the G100 Communications & Advocacy Wing with a global mission of engaging 1 million women by 2022 #MissionMillion. The G100 is about fostering horizontal and vertical networks of women and enabling an international domino and ripple effect. It involves empowering communities of women locally, enabling a chain of change with multiple nodes
of mentoring, peer exchange, up-skilling, vision, empowerment, sense of belonging and confidence. I just love the concept.
As the Global Chair of Communication & Advocacy, alongside my Country Chairs and their local chairs, it is our privilege, and responsibility, to not only disseminate the G100 mission but also to promote this decade as a watershed moment for gender parity and leadership. Through the work of the G100, and through Communication & Advocacy we will justify the benefits of having an equal society for the sustainability of humankind and our planet. We will create a paradigm shift in setting the agenda of the UN, international bodies, global governments and decision making bodies at all levels on how to include women equally in all aspects of life and policy making. The 20th Century is the era of CO – Co-working, Co-llaboration, Co-operation, Co-munication and Co-lateral – our human capital. Women constitute 51% of the world’s population and yet are still treated as the minority. The G100 aim to change this through its #MissionMillion2022.
FWM: You were honored with the Gender Equality Top 100 The Most Influential People in Global Policy. What does this mean to you? What would you like to see happen in 2021?
Can you image that 30 years ago I was lying on the floor unable to move. My children screaming, my husband kicking his shoes into my stomach, the neighbors hearing my screams and doing nothing. To leave with nothing, to have nothing to depend or rely on except yourself, to have to survive not for yourself but for your children? It remains with me everyday, buried deep inside. But I did survive and I know I was one of the lucky ones and therefore I have a responsibility to speak
for all those who cannot. And I have spoken and spoken and advocated and challenged and fought, and still the situation has not changed. Because I have no qualifications I have often been dismissed as a person without value, especially
by the multilateral global institutions. When I received the recognition of being Apolitical’s Gender Equality Top 100 The Most Influential People in Global Policy it endorsed that my work was not going to waste, I am making a difference. But put yourself in my shoes, I am an unknown, unqualified survivor of domestic violence and my name was alongside that of 99 leading lights across the globe including President Macron of France, Justin Trudeau of Canada, and Malala Yousefi of Pakistan – What an honor!
That recognition has given me the strength to continue. 1 in 3 women are victims of domestic violence, 1 in 5 men. Its a crime, it has to stop, it is not a domestic issue , it is a societal problem which we must change. Sadly, it is especially affecting young women today in a horrific manner where peer pressure is being applied to them to perform sexual acts which they do not understand is abuse. The #MeToo movement is the tip of the iceberg. Furthermore, it is not only the physical abuse, it is psychological abuse and the impact on future generations, the damage inflicted on them through what they witness, that is also unacceptable.
In 2021 we still allow 1 in 3 women to be abused and 1 in 5 men, even animals do not behave likem this, and we describe ourselves as a “civilized”. Because people stay silent, like my neighbors, the perpetrators continue. If we stay silent, we are complicit.
FWM: How have you evolved as a person through all of your interactions with people globally?
I believe my multicultural background has been one of my greatest assets. I have been able to understand and adapt to both different cultures and different levels of people in society. I am honored and proud that I am respected by people in villages, where I have sat on the floor and eaten with families who have had nothing yet still been able to give me a meal; and equally I have sat with Prime Ministers and Royalty across the world where meals were lavishly and extravagantly prepared for us. I never adjust either my personality nor my language in these circumstances, I just make sure I do my best to listen to understand. Everyone wants to be heard. My greatest lessons in life were not from the classroom but from spending time with, and learning from, others, our
human capital. There is a great deal to be said for not having qualifications, I have an open mind that naturally wants to learn about the reality.
FWM: Tell us about your book, Madi No Excuses! “Victim to Changemaker.” Why was this an important story to tell?
As an international speaker and lecturer on entrepreneurship, I was often asked to write it all down so people could have a manual. So that’s what I did. Madi No Excuses! is a journey with me as your mentor. The journey that starts my story and finishes with you achieving your Absolute Commitment. I ask questions which require you to reflect very deeply about yourself and your life, uncomfortable sometimes; the opportunities you may be missing and the challenges you can
overcome. Each book contains a ‘Commitment Bead’ which is unique in the world… just like you! I understood that if I want to achieve my Absolute Commitment of turning 7 billion ideas to action, then I needed to help more people more often, and so the book has become one of those tools. What is an Absolute Commitment you ask? It is your purpose, your legacy, it is the overarching objective to all your goals. And it is very likely that you have never even considered it… 95 percent of people cannot do the ‘Blank Piece of Paper’ exercise I set. So the book is not a self-help book, nor is it a book on entrepreneurship, it is a series of tasks set by me, your personal mentor. We use
a 7F, (Fantasize, Feasible, Foundation, Fear and Failure, Fit For Purpose, Focus and Face) process to get you to achieve your ambitions. After all, if you achieve your Absolute Commitment, I achieve mine! We are talking about ideas that could make world poverty history; ideas that could give future generations a cleaner and sustainable Earth; ideas that could end corruption; ideas that can create jobs, transform communities and empower individuals….the possibilities are limitless?
There are no boundaries to what we as human being can do, all you have to do is to start – and that is the mission of the book, to get you started and be by your side.
FWM: What is your greatest achievement?
That is such a difficult question because firstly, I picked myself up off the floor, secondly I raised 2 amazing daughters who both have qualifications and careers and who have both given me grandchildren. I am aware that I have supported and guided tens of thousands of people and students and inspired them through my speeches and teachings. I have awards and accolades although I would still like an honorary degree), and I have been on the guest list of some extremely prestigious events. I was even given a Jaguar Car and promoted as one of their VIPs for
several years! mI think though, my greatest achievement is what I share as my definition of success, despite all the pain, all the challenges and hardships, I wouldn’t change my life with anyone else on this planet – How many people can say that? I can look back at my life and know that I have exceeded my own
expectations and I can hold my head high. I made No Excuses! – I am being the change I want to see.
Madi is a recognised international speaker, including TEDx Talks. She keynotes
at conferences and lectures in universities on Entrepreneurship, trade policy,
empowerment, leadership, valuing human capital, diversity, gender balance
and corporate social responsibility. As a presenter, Madi has the rare ability to
capture an audience through uncommonly direct and original insights that
engage individuals in her call to action. As a result of the success of Madi’s
speeches she authored her first book Madi No Excuses!
www.madinoexcuses.com and is a freelance journalist.
