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The Hindu, Chennai, 10 March
2004
Shanthi, Tamizhselvi and Sumitha were total
strangers to one another. Yet, the other day, just hours after they
met for the first time, they were sitting together, like comrades,
discussing their plans for the future.
Unknown to them, there
were a couple of things in common: They were all entrepreneurs, who
worked in reduced circumstances and winners of the Bharat Yuva
Shakti Trust (BYST) entrepreneurship awards.
On their own,
they decided to launch on a career of entrepreneurship, partly to
have something to do and partly to supplement family
income.
"I now earn more than my husband, though when I
started I made a loss of Rs. 8,000," says Tamizhselvi of Tirunelveli
district. Barely 17 years when she was married and just a
matriculate, Tamizhselvi moved to Chennai with her husband, looking
out for sources of income. And she ended up incurring a huge loss.
"My first venture at starting a business cost me Rs. 8,000. But,
struggling to get out of that, I realised I could go nowhere without
training. So I got some basic training in the Small Industries
Services Institute, Guindy." From making candles and soaps, taking
tips from a well-meaning neighbour, she moved into the garment
industry.
"Well, it was not really "industry". We were
making and selling handkerchiefs. Later, we got a Jet Airways
contract for making aprons and seat covers. Within two months, we
sold 30,000 pieces and other companies seemed interested," says
Tamizhselvi.
The change has not been so dramatic for
Sumitha, nevertheless she is glad about the way things turned out.
At Kancheepuram, she, along with her husband, teaches at a night
school for child labourers. During day, she goes to dumping yards,
picking up garbage, segregating it and composting bio-waste. She
generates at least 50 kg of compost every month. "I get Rs.
2,000-2,500 every month. I make no investment. Everything I make is
profit," says Sumitha. Eventually, she hopes to generate more than
5,000 kg of compost.
Shanti, on the other hand, talks of
concepts: food scarcity, environment conservation and awareness
generation among farmers. She holds a diploma in agriculture.
Propagation of the message of vermicomposting and biomanure is her
passion and industry too.
"My entrepreneurship is in the area
of service. I do it not only to make some money to keep the family
going but also because it is important that someone does these
things."
Apart from the three is Rajeswari, who came later
on her scooter, taking time off her work.
In May 1995, she
started selling printer cartridges, pledging her mothers jewels and
borrowing Rs. 20,000 from the BYST.
She built up the
business slowly and now leases a factory which makes computer
peripherals and has an annual turnover of Rs. 31.75 lakhs.
Rajeswari won the BYSTs JRD Tata award for business
excellence in 2000 and dreams of importing products from Japan and
Singapore. |
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