Women entrepreneurs honoured with excellence awards

“While I started off as a daily wage worker, a small loan helped me become a member of the Silk Weavers Society. After 25 years, I now own two looms, have my own house, and have been able to educate my children,” said Sundari Devaraj, a 54-year-old member of the Indian Cooperative Network for Women (ICNW) from Kancheepuram. 

On Tuesday, Ms. Sundari and five other women were honoured with the Best Poor Women Entrepreneurs Excellence Awards given by the Working Women’s Forum (India) and ICNW to mark the International Cooperative Day.

“These women entrepreneurs have defied all odds and have risen above poverty through their entrepreneurial endeavours. They all have stories of empowerment and resilience and the Working Women’s Forum has been instrumental in supporting them in their journey towards economical independence,” said forum president Nandini Azad.  She said that they had become agents of change in their communities, created jobs and were role models for women across the world.

Boddu Ruthu, a carpenter from Narasapur, Andhra Pradesh; Pushpalatha Somasundaram, a farmer from Adiramapattinam, Tamil Nadu; Devika Narendran, a medical shopowner from Chennai; Shilpa Nagaraj, a farmer from Channapatna, Karnataka; and Kavitha Sivasankar, a grocery store owner from Chennai; were honoured with the award.

Sharing their stories, the award-winners said that after struggling to make both ends meet, availing loans through the cooperative network helped them pursue their entrepreneurial dreams and even enabled some of them to become landowners, take up farming as well as explore animal husbandry.

Marten Van Den Berg, Netherlands Ambassador to India, said the stories of the women entrepreneurs were inspiring. “Your stories are all about  inspiration, resilience, determination and transformation, and highlight your journey from poverty to success. It is heartening to see how you have worked towards turning your dreams into reality,” he said. He congratulated the efforts of WWF and ICNW in empowering women and their work at the grassroots level.