Visionaries transforming Himalayan hemp into global impact

Meet The Changemakers

(Hemp Foundation now known as UKHI)

A physicist turned regenerative entrepreneur, Vishal discovered his purpose walking through abandoned Himalayan villages. Fourteen years of building digital ventures gave him the toolset; witnessing rural exodus gave him the mission. Now he architects systems where forgotten communities become climate heroes.

Signature Achievement: Transformed 5 ghost villages into thriving hemp production hubs, bringing 120+ families back to their ancestral homes.

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Vishal Vivek

Founder & Catalyst

MIT Physics | ISB Innovation Fellow

Vishal Vivek’s story is one of turning struggle into strength, and strength into impact.

He grew up with heavy family responsibilities and almost no resources. Yet, out of that pressure, he built his first venture—SEO Corporation—into a respected digital company.

In an industry known for broken promises, he stood apart by giving guarantees and keeping them. That reputation for grit and integrity became the foundation for everything that came after.

But success in business was not enough.

Vishal wanted his work to mean something deeper, to touch lives where opportunity was scarce. That search took him to the remote Himalayan villages of Uttarakhand, where he founded the Hemp Foundation.

He didn’t just direct projects from afar. He moved there, lived among farmers, and shared their struggles. Through 100+ workshops, he helped over 1,000 farmers, many of them women, turn hemp into a source of dignity and livelihood.

Recognition followed, in the form of the HDFC Parivartan Grant, awards from the Ministry of MSME, and honors from universities. Yet what mattered most to him were the families who could finally see a future beyond subsistence.

That same drive now powers UKHI, the company he co-founded to take on one of humanity’s greatest challenges: plastic pollution.

The vision is simple yet radical: transform agricultural waste into compostable polymers that can rival plastic in performance but leave no scars on the planet.

Under Vishal’s leadership, UKHI has drawn support from institutions like IIT Guwahati, ISB Hyderabad, NSRCEL-IIM Bangalore, ICAR Pusa, and the Indian Institute of Packaging. These partnerships are helping prove that waste from the farm can become the building blocks of a cleaner world.

Vishal’s passion is fueled by examples of what once seemed impossible.

“If Elon Musk can make rockets reusable, or Dashrath Manjhi can carve through a mountain with rudimentary tools, why can’t we eliminate the demon of single-use plastic while uplifting struggling farmers?” he asks. “We will make it happen—whatever it takes.”

Featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, and honored by the Times Group in I Did It – Vol 2, Vishal continues to show that business can be more than profit, it can be a force that rewrites destinies, both for people and for the planet.