C Hampabehn Ramniklal Shah lost her husband after a decade of marriage at 30 years of age. With three children to raise and no financial help (her husband was the sole breadwinner), the Vadodara, Gujarat-based Shah lived for a few months on sympathy from her relatives. ?Life had changed overnight,? she said. ?From being a homemaker and a mother to my children, I had to forcefully become the earning member.? An 8th class failed student and no technical skills in hand, Shah found it difficult to find a job.
Shah had a skill, however, which earned her accolades from visitors who dropped in to her home. She makes exotic squashes and juices. She decided to turn her skill into a business. But with no know-how on how to start or run a business, the meager hand-to-mouth publicity did not augur well for the Shah family. A casual conversation with a lady at a doctor?s clinic led Shah to International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Career Development (ICECD), which has done substantial work in Gujarat for widows.
ICECD develops need-based training modules for developing entrepreneurial capability amongst widows to make them capable of supporting their small businesses. Working since 1986, ICECD has provided entrepreneurship training in India and over 62 other developing countries by working at grassroots level, providing capacity-building training to women, rural youth and tribals of Gujarat. In the last three years, it has trained more than 7,000 widows of Gujarat, 1,600 tribals and 1,000 youth in 21 districts of Gujarat.
Shah approached ICECD and was trained to become an entrepreneur. The Shah family not only meets with household expenses and children?s education, but is also able to afford a religious trip nearby.
Last month, the Gujarat government felicitated and rewarded Shah and 2,000 other successful women entrepreneurs from 21 districts in the state, who started from scratch like her. The ICECD-organised maha sammelan also provided them guidance on ?How to expand and Grow in their Businesses? with help from experts, successful business people and marketing and finance representatives. After acquiring training at ICECD, the entrepreneurs are provided with regular follow-up support and guidance and kits worth Rs 3,000 are given by the government to support their businesses.
ICECD also provides the women with linkages to market and finance and some of them have obtained loans from banks and other financial institutions. The average earning ranges from Rs 3, 000 per month to Rs 10,000 per month. ?This is an achievement for the women, and for ICECD, for these women will never have to ask for help from anyone. They feel a sense of pride in their new found ability and are looking at further bright prospects,? said Hina Shah, director, ICECD.
In the last three years, out of the 7,400 widows trained, 4,300 widows (between the age group of 35 and 40 years) have already started their businesses, mostly in manufacturing units like food products, cold drinks, garment making, dairy products; services such as beauty parlours, flour mills, laundry, STD/PCO centres, tiffin services; and small businesses such as selling jewellery, food products, grocery, etc.
Shah said, ?These women are looked upon as a liability by their families and society at large. Through ICECD?s development process, they have become financially well-off and independent.? Though these women have become entrepreneurs, they still have to face social and economic challenges in society. To resolve such issues, ICECD has formed a state-level federation of these women entrepreneurs, said Shah.
A woman entrepreneur, who wished to remain anonymous, said, ?I cannot express how happy and grateful I am for the training and support from ICECD. Women such as me, left suddenly alone with families to look after and with no earning skills, have now found our footing, thanks to ICECD. From a bleak future to a state where I earn Rs 7,000 per month, I can only look forward to better times. More than anything else, I have the confidence and the skill to dream and aim better.?