Key Points
- ‘Terminal 4: An Entrepreneur’s Journey from Bicycle to Business Class’ tells the inspirational rags-to-riches story of Nilesh Makwana
- The book was launched in WA Parliament House on 22 August
- ‘Nilesh’s story is truly inspirational’: WA Premier Mark McGowan
Terminal 4: An Entrepreneur’s Journey from Bicycle to Business Class tells the WA-based entrepreneur's inspirational rags-to-riches story.
A book launch was held inside WA Parliament House on 22 August 2022, hosted by Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Michelle Roberts and President of the Legislative Council Alanna Clohesy.
“I saw a quote from Mahatma Gandhi that I thought was appropriate for Nilesh,” Speaker Michelle Roberts said referring to her first meeting with Nilesh at the inaugural Borderless Gandhi exhibition, an event created by the tech entrepreneur and his wife Lene to share Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings with Perth.
“That quote was ‘Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony,’ and I think that is the theme of your life.”
The event was also attended by members of the state parliament including Dr Jagadish Krishnan, Geoffrey Baker, Wilson Tucker, and Stephen Pratt.
Nilesh said "I am grateful I could share this moment at WA Parliament’s Aboriginal People’s Gallery, a place not usually available for private functions with my family members visiting from India for the first time.
“It’s unusual that a member of the community is given an opportunity to launch a book inside Parliament, so this is quite an honour for me.”
Indian Australian author Nilesh Makwana’s book has been launched in the Western Australia Parliament.
He would ride his bicycle to school, with his school bag filled with goodies that other students would buy for the small amount of 25 paise (less than five cents).
When he was 13 his mother passed away. While Mr Makwana's father moved the family to Mumbai, he chose to stay in his hometown with his grandfather.
Without my father's supervision, I was free to do what I pleased and my door-to-door business boomed.Nilesh Makwana
This and many other remembrances fill the pages of Terminal 4, which also narrates Mr Makwana's journey from India to London to get a degree.
"Bollywood movies would cast dark-skinned people in negative roles so I had stereotypes in my mind. But meeting people from various countries I learned how friendly, interesting and unique people from different countries can be. And my views completely changed," he tells SBS Gujarati.
Mr Makwana became aware of his own personal prejudices after attending international student events in London where he came across students of various ethnicities.
After a few years in London, Mr Makwana was at a crossroads. Then he visited a childhood friend who had settled down in Melbourne, after which he decided to move to Perth in Western Australia, taking up his studies once more.
“My book is different from many books telling the tales of migrants in the way that most books on the market describe involuntary migration because of catastrophe," Mr Makwana says.
But in my book, I talk about the child and the young adult having a vision for the future and of wanting more.Nilesh Makwana, entrepreneur and author
India-Australia relations and the important contribution overseas students make to the WA economy are also important parts of the story.
Mr Makwana is the CEO of the Microsoft Gold Partner tech firm Illuminance Solutions.
He has won several awards, including the inaugural Global Microsoft Partner for Social Impact 2019, the Business News 40 Under 40 Award 2020, City of Perth Strategic Alignment Award, CXO Gold Disruptor of the Year 2019 by the Australian Computer Society, and the Multicultural Business Award 2021 by the Australian Government’s Office of Multicultural Interests.
Entrepreneur Nilesh Makwana's book 'Terminal 4 From Bicycle to Business Class' launched by WA Premier Mark MacGowan
The premier said he was delighted to support the lanch of Mr Makwana’s book, which celebrates Australia's deepening relationship with India and the contributions of Indians and other migrants to WA.
Nilesh’s story is truly inspirational, and an example of the positive impact Indian migrants have made to not only WA’s business community but the wider local community.WA Premier Mark McGowan
Mr Makwana said he is grateful for the support.
“The premier’s support for my book, and my goal of creating a more inclusive and harmonious society, means the world to me, and will hopefully encourage closer economic and cultural ties with India; it gives me great hope for future relations between the two countries I love,” he said.
Nilesh Makwana's book Terminal 4 launched at Taj Palace in New Delhi by WA Deputy Premier Hon Roger Cook Minister for State Development Jobs and Trade Tourism Commerce
The book charts the course of Mr Makwana’s life from migrant and international student to successful entrepreneur with a passion for social impact.
Australia Day ambassador
As a student who struggled to keep up in school in Mumbai, Mr Makwana never would have imagined being an ambassador for Australia’s national day of celebration.
The social innovator studied IT, completing a Master of Commerce in Information System and Services and is using his expertise in the field to empower others.
The Indian-born, Perth entrepreneur and information and communications technology (ICT) advocate came to Australia in 2012 after beginning his studies in the United Kingdom.
Through his Perth-based IT business, Illuminance Solutions, Mr Makwana has helped provide support to empower the elderly, Indigenous and those living with a disability in parts of Western Australia.
He became an Australian citizen on Australia Day in 2019.
The successful business owner and Tech for Social Impact Innovator was nominated as an Auspire Australia Day Ambassador for WA in 2021
A documentary in the making
Mr Makwana received an offer to turn his book into a documentary film even before it was launched in Australia.
An Australian-Indian collaboration between HALO Films, Life Films Director Scott Quayle, Indian Author Mr Manuraj Dubey and four-time Emmy Award Nominee Leighton de Barros is working on bringing the story to the screens.
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