Over the last decade, India has seen an increase in the number of startups and new enterprises founded by men. While many Indian women aspire to be entrepreneurs, they typically find success more challenging. In reality, India has been identified as one of many countries where female entrepreneurs face less favourable conditions, pronounced social biases, and a lack of business resources such as financing, capital, training, and development.Women who cannot reach their full potential in society miss opportunities for innovation, growth, and livelihood creation, but they are not the only ones missing out. Their non-participation in the labour force deprives India of a GDP boost.According to IMF, equal participation of women in the labour market will increase India’s GDP by 27%! In this scenario, it is imperative to celebrate and support the women that are increasing women’s representation in the market and leading by example. Lovely Baruah from Agartala, Tripura,is one such entrepreneur. She trainsand collaborates with women artisans in her region to create handcrafted contemporary products made with natural materials.
Empowering other women
Lovely didn’t just build a brand of her own. She also created a community of local women that she trained and then hired. She believes in fostering an atmosphere that values and encourages taking calculated risks. A sustainable business model can create employment for others. Today around 300 artisans are associated with FitBird. Lovely wants to train more artisans so they can become self-reliant. FitBird also supplies to, and has stores in the airports at Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Chennai. They are currently expanding across India and internationally. Notably, Lovely Baruah has been a part of the Her&Now support programme in the north-east region where she sharpened her understanding of markets, risks, and sustainability. Her story will come alive in a soon-to-be-launched graphic novel: W.E. MEAN BUSINESS – 20 WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS, 20 STORIES, and its Hindi version: Mera Business, Meri Kahaani.
FitBird
It was tough for Lovely to start something of her own with endless daily struggles. She moved to Tripura with her husband in 2015 and joined the Tripura Bamboo Mission, where she worked as a designer. Backed with corporate experienceIn her work here, she realised that her interest lies in working in the handicrafts sector, and she soon started on her own. Working with local weavers and artisans was challenging at first. She paired their skills with contemporary designs, re-adapted them, and created a cluster to co-create products. After all the challenges she faced while setting up the firm, her brand FitBird was launched in 2018 with a line of sustainable modern handcrafted items, handloom garments, and home furnishing made from natural materials.Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is implementing the project ‘Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Start-ups by Women’ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and in partnership with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India, to support aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs in India. In the north-east region, the programme was run in partnership with Dhriiti – The Courage Within.
