Creating New Opportunities for Self Employment
Aatapi organises business development and entrepreneurship training sessions for members of the community in need of alternative sources of livelihood. Women access small business loans from Ujaas – their savings and credit society and initiate mohalla (neighborhood) businesses such as retail shop, snacks shop, vegetable shop, cosmetics and laris- push carts selling cosmetics, accessories, masalas and such like.
Women access
small business loans
from Ujaas
Aatapi provides entrepreneurship training
for members of the
community
Aatapi encourages them to widen
their scope and expand their
business as and where possible
Business management and entrepreneurship training give the differently-abled the confidence to identify a potential source of income based on their capacities. After training and acquisition of a start-up loan, Aatapi enables them to build on it through a process of continuous interaction, hand holding and morale building till the business is launched and stabilised. At an opportune age Aatapi encourages them to widen their scope and expand their business as and where possible.
Women have been trained in tailoring, hand skills such as computers, recycling of plastic waste and industrial housekeeping. A recent success story has been neem seed collection for the Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals; GNFC, Bharuch. This is now a regular seasonal business.
Neem Collection
A Seasonal Business with Handsome Returns
GNFC approached cooperative dairies to procure a regular supply of neem seeds to meet the raw material requirement for their production of neem coated urea. Aatapi facilitated the dialogue between women of SHGs and GNFC, trained and organised them to ensure collection of of high quality neem seeds and built their skills to handle this specialised business. This has yielded a regular collection of more than 100 tonnes of neem seeds, totally managed by 10 to 12 women entrepreneurs, yielding a profit that ranges between Rs 20,000 to Rs. 1.5 lac per entrepreneur. The added advantage of this seasonal business is that it provides gainful employment in the lean agriculture season. The women have gained confidence as business women, interacting and negotiating with GNFC and business management. GNFC has also given them a certificate and cash award.
No. of Women trained in Training Programmes
18
Industrial House Keeping
30
Hand Skill Training
20
Recycle Plastic Waste Weaving
19
Computer Training
46
Entrepreneurship Development Training
18
Tailoring Training