Sanjeevani Kamble, from Bolegaon Village in Shirar-Anantpal Block of Latur District has emerged as a business-savvy entrepreneur after attending SSP’s Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP) training. She has grown to become an empowered leader who is guiding and mobilising other women from her village to begin their own entrepreneurship journey.
Sanjeevani tai was primarily a homemaker, who occasionally worked as a daily wage labourer in others’ farms when household finances necessitated it. A few years back, Sanjeevani tai’s husband had a serious accident, due to which he was unable to operate his combined grocery and xerox business. With no experience of operating a business, Sanjeevani had to learn how to manage the store on her own, with a little guidance from her husband. She also began working as a Community Resource Person (CRP) with the government’s UMED initiative to make ends meet.
In 2022, Sanjeevani tai was approached by an SSP leader about the EDP training. Interested in improving her business, she attended this six-day integrated training that focused on entrepreneurship development, creating a supportive business ecosystem, WCRF model of farming, identifying business opportunities, promotion, marketing and customer service. Soon after the training, Sanjeevani tai applied for a loan from a mico-finance institution, and started a stationery and garment enterprise to go along with her existing business. Already having a shop, she realised it would take a low overhead cost to integrate two more enterprises with her grocery and xerox business. In the last six-months, she has been able to increase her monthly income by Rs.5000 as a result of her diverse businesses.
Due to Sanjeevani tai’s enthusiasm and work, she was also selected to be a local village leader. Through her efforts, 16 other women from her village started small enterprises such as tailoring, papad making, poultry, dairy etc. Today, Sanjeevani tai identifies herself as an empowered and self-confident woman leader. She is able to negotiate with wholesalers in the large Latur market for purchasing goods, and has become familiar with digital banking and payment systems over time. As a successful entrepreneur, she now plans to expand her businesses and even start a new shoe selling enterprise in her village.
Swayam Shikshan Prayog
April 18, 2023