Started bakery enterprise after the COVID crisis, today the business has reached lakhs; read the inspiring story of Gunjan Devi

Gunjan came to know about the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Program (SVEP) being run under the National Rural Livelihood Mission.

Lucknow: Government initiatives under the National Rural Livelihood Mission and the encouragement of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are helping rural women turn their ambitions into reality. Gunjan Devi, a resident of Sikrohar village, is one such example. By launching her own bakery business, she has improved her family’s livelihood and inspired other women to follow the path of self-employment.

Who is Gunjan Devi?

Gunjan Devi is associated with the Tulsi Women Self-Help Group, which operates under the Gagan Mahila Gram Sangathan and Sanskriti Prerna Mahila Sankul Samiti (CLF). During the COVID-19 pandemic, when her husband lost his job and the family fell into financial crisis, she decided to become self-reliant instead of giving up.

How Gunjan Devi became a successful entrepreneur?

During this, Gunjan came to know about the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Program (SVEP) being run under the National Rural Livelihood Mission. Under the guidance of Sarita Devi, who works as CRP-EP at the BRC, Gunjan received a loan of ₹40,000, which she supplemented with ₹20,000. Along with this, she invested ₹1 lakh from her personal savings and started her bakery enterprise in December 2022.

There were challenges in the beginning, but with her husband’s support and her own hard work, Gunjan learned the intricacies of raw material procurement, product manufacturing, and marketing. She established contacts with local shopkeepers and started supplying her products, which gradually strengthened her customer base.

How much money does Gunjan Devi earn today?

Today, Gunjan Devi’s monthly turnover has reached between approximately ₹1.50 lakh and ₹1.80 lakh, out of which she earns a monthly profit of ₹15,000 to ₹20,000. She has also repaid nearly 80 percent of the loan taken under SVEP. Recently, she was honoured by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for her outstanding work.

Gunjan Devi says that in the coming time, she wants to expand her bakery business to meet the growing demand and also provide employment opportunities to one or two more people.

In this regard, Chief Development Officer Anand Shukla said that through schemes like the National Rural Livelihood Mission and SVEP, rural women are being encouraged towards self-employment.

The success of Gunjan Devi proves that with proper guidance and a little financial support, women can become self-reliant and contribute to the progress of both their families and society.

Source link

The Times Of Bengal