Rise of women entrepreneurs during COVID19
“With no money to run a family earlier, today, I run my own business” says Anita Dhole as her harsh financial conditions due to an accident cost her lakhs of savings in 2015. Anita started a grocery store with a loan of INR 20,000 from Sashakta Sakhi Sanstha & basic entrepreneurship training from Swayam Shikshan Prayog.
But due to COVID19 and lockdown restrictions, Solapur markets were off the list. To sustain her business and most importantly, villagers’ needs, she met local wholesale vendors in Barshi and bought necessary goods and sold them without increasing prices. The prompt selling made their shop reach the forefront in and around 20 villages with 30,000 customers overall.
Anita exemplifies how women now have leveraged the strength of their community institutions to reverse their dire situations and secure a better future for themselves and their families.