Help Rural Women Gain Essential Business Skills

The residents of Kolegaon village famously address Manisha as ‘Farm Engineer’. Despite of leaving school after 8^th standard, she still managed to earn this respect due to her work. 

Few years back, Manisha would sell pomegranates from their garden to earn a living. However, owing to the meagre income and the seasonal nature of this business, she was left struggling to handle day to day expenses and send her children to school. Meanwhile, she got introduced to Mann Deshi through a mobilization drive in her village. She enrolled with Mann Deshi and learnt how to develop her own business, time management and self-management skills and financial management. Inspired by what she learned, she decided to start her own goat, cow and hen rearing business to compensate for the seasonal loss in agriculture. 

Manisha mentions that she gained the confidence that change her life after realizing that she was not alone. She used to be much isolated from the community. She had learnt electrical appliance repair but used to repair the appliances only in her own house and farm. With her increased confidence, she started helping others in the village to repair any faulty appliances. Today, villagers residing in Kolegaon and vicinity come to Manisha for many kinds for appliance repair. She repairs all types of motors, pumps, drives a tractor by herself and fixes any problems with electricity. 

Villagers ask her, “You’re just 8^th pass and how do you always innovate and come up with solutions?” To which, Manisha blissfully replies, “This is an era of technology. Rest of the world is using so much technology so why should we stay behind?” 

Now, she is more active within her community and participates in social events regularly. She is very proud of where she is today because through her own hard work, she gained the respect and appreciation from her family and community members. She always recommends Mann Deshi to her friends so that they could also be helped the same way. 

Her children are her inspiration to work with dedication. She wants to provide higher education to both of her kids. Her daughter wants to be a doctor and son, an engineer. Manisha is confident enough that she’ll expand her business further to bear the educational expenses of her children.

Thank you so much for all GlobalGiving Supporters !

Links:

• Co-Chair World Economic Forum 2018

Mann Deshi Ambassador for Digital Payments in Rural India:

"Integrating technology in business has enabled me to perform transactions worth lacks in couple of minutes, without any hassle" says Rupali. 

Rupali ran her traditional leather business which generated a meagre income of INR 4,000 per month. During a temple visit, Rupali saw leather musical instruments and got to know about its high price. She decided to invest in machines and expand her business by making musical instruments. 

Soon, Rupali enrolled for our Deshi MBA programme to gain enterprise development and financial literacy skills. A loan from Mann Deshi Bank enabled her to kickstart the musical instrument production. Business skills coupled with financial assistance increased her income to INR 20,000 per month. She regularly takes part in Business School's programmes for staying updated with technological advancements. 

Rupali pioneers in adoption of digital payments in her area. She uses ATM card, internet banking and accepts payments via digital methods. She is a role model and inspiration for her fellow women entrepreneurs.

 Thank you so much to all our Global Giving Supporters !

Links:

• Chetna Sinha to co-chair the 48th World Economic Forum 2018
• Chetna Sinha participates in KBC hosted by Mr. Amitabh Bachchan
• Video of Rupali