Gupchups, shirts, and carpentry! | Milaap

Gupchups, shirts, and carpentry!

Flip through any magazine, browse through as many news channels, and you will find one common topic - the media is buzzing about women safety and empowerment. Meanwhile we, at Milaap, decided to do a story about 5 married women from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, who are trying to transform their lives through enterprising. Rupali, Manasi, Minati, Sabitri, and Sandhyarani are a part of a self-help group which works together, supporting each other in household and business affairs. These women stepped out of their houses to lend a helping hand to their husbands in supplementing their families. Besides taking up household tasks, they run small businesses in their locality to generate additional income. What initially started as an action dictated by need is slowly turning into a success story. These women run a variety of shops ranging from food stalls to grocery to even carpentry!Meet the team:[caption id="attachment_7283" align="alignnone" width="680"]Enterprise loan from Milaap helped Rupali and her friends scale up their business Enterprise loan from Milaap helped Rupali and her friends scale up their business[/caption]
  1. Rupali runs a tailor shop
  2. Manasi runs a grocery shop
  3. Sabitri produces and sells gup-chup
  4. Minati does carpentry work along with her husband
  5. Sandhyarani runs a food stall
They recently took a loan from Milaap to buy raw materials in bulk, thereby reducing the overall operational cost of their business through one time transportation and bulk-purchase discounts. Being a fellow at Milaap, I got the chance to meet each one of these inspiring, beautiful women.You can also be a part of this change by contributing towards more women entrepreneurs like Rupali and her friends by clicking here.Â