In Photos: How Women Entrepreneurs in Karnataka's Raichur Are Finding Their Feet

Meet the women of Raichur who have been successfully running small businesses and supporting their families.

"I used to work as an ASHA worker before, but it never gave me enough satisfaction. I didn't make enough money for my family either. My husband worked as a driver, but he had health issues. So I was desperate to open a business of my own," says Taiyamma.

(Photo: UNDP India/Dheeraj Aithal)

Women in Karnataka's Raichur district have their hands full at the moment. From running tailoring shops to roti-making ventures, they are slowly establishing themselves as local entrepreneurs who support their families. Some of them – like Taiyamma – have also donned the role of an Unnati Sakhi, as part of the UNDP and SAP Labs' Code Unnati Project. As Unnati Sakhis, they help identify local women entrepreneurs like themselves and nurture their potential.

"I've never been happier," says Taiyamma, a former ASHA worker who now runs a tiffin centre in Karnataka's Raichur.

Shashikala learned how to ride a scooter when she was just 12 years old. Her father, who was a postman, didn't know the first thing about riding, but she would often borrow his friends' scooters to learn.

"I would keep falling off the scooter, and my father would scold me. But I still kept going," says the 46-year-old who now works as a driving instructor for women in Raichur.

In fact, Shashikala may be the only woman driving instructor in Raichur, one of the 112 districts in the country that the NITI Aayog has classified as "aspirational" and in need of development. 

"I have many students and I make enough money. But what gives me joy is when I know I've helped a woman stand on her own two feet," says Shashikala, who wants to run an ambulance service one day.

Farzana says she's always been a multitasker. An expert tailor who specialises in maggam work, an intricate cloth design unique to north Karnataka, she also makes stuffed toys, bags, jewellery – all while running a kirana shop with her husband.

Farzana wakes up at 5 am every day for namaaz. After completing her household chores, she heads to her kirana shop at noon, where she also works on her maggam designs. "My husband complains that I never sit still. Sometimes, he switches off my alarm so I don't wake up so early," she exclaims.

"I stayed with my in-laws when I got married. For three years, I was sitting at home idle because they wouldn't let me go out. Once my husband and I moved out, I realised I needed to focus on my dreams," says Farzana, a mother of two, who wants to open a training institute for women one day.

Five years ago, Jayashree's life came to a standstill when her husband, a farmer and the sole breadwinner of the family, suffered from paralysis on one side of the body. But a few months ago, after a UNDP entrepreneurship training, she opened a jowar roti-making business. "My business was doing so well that my son quit his job at an electric shop to help me out full-time."

Forty-five-year-old Jayashree works out of this old shed. She delivers 350-400 jowar rotis per day, and her business has a monthly turnover of Rs 40,000-45,500. "I have studied only till Class 5. I had no skills. This is the first I'm earning money in my life," she says.

Over the course of six months, Jayashree (left) has managed to accept and deliver rotis within a 20-km radius. She has also hired two other workers to help her meet the growing demand.

Sujata (left) and Parimala (right) met each other during a training programme at a garment factory in 2021. Sujata wanted to run her own embroidery business one day, while Parimala, an expert in maggam work, was her trainer. The duo recently opened a shop of their own, called Sakhi Garments – an ode to their friendship.

Sujata had always wanted to get her own computerised embroidery machine, which costs Rs 4 lakh. Her brother lent her money to buy one. Sujata says she's repaid it all in full with her profits. "My father died when I was four, and my brother has been my pillar of support. He believed in me," she says.

"Things get very hectic here when it's festival and wedding season. We're happy with the way things are going, but we're also hoping to expand to more designs," says Parimala.

The Quint recently met several women in Karnataka's Raichur who have taken to entrepreneurship and are successfully running small businesses and supporting their families.

Apart from their will to succeed, these women have another thing in common – they work as Unnati Sakhis (friends of progress), as part of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and SAP Labs' Code Unnati Project. They take a six-month course of five days each to equip themselves to help other women in the region pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.

Across Karnataka, 4,500 women have been trained so far in entrepreneurial skills, of which 125 were chosen as Unnati Sakhis.