New Delhi, October 21: India's economy was struggling to keep afloat, with rising inflation, unemployment and decreasing growth rate and COVID-19 lockdown added icing to the cake. Many industries witnessed a massive amount of lay-offs at all the managerial and operational levels. Production and demand slashed, people stacked and businesses were shut. However, amid all this, some women find their way to start and flourish their businesses.

The COVID-19 lockdown led many women to start up their own small scale, out of kitchen/home business while the businesses that were already running grew bigger. These newbie entrepreneurs converted their hobbies into full time successful business and proved that talent, passion, dedication, and hardwork with a pinch of courage are the perfect recipe to achieve anything in life. Tech Mahindra, Niti Aayog's WEP Partner to Support Women Entrepreneurs in India.

Here are  the stories of some such women-entrepreneurs sailing well amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic:

Boju's Kitchen

A 23-year-old political science graduate from the Delhi University, Chitrangadha Gupta, along with her mother, Arati Gupta and grandmother Maiyya Thapa, started a sought after momos making and delivery service under the name  Boju’s Kitchen. The venture was started in July 2020, with an initial investment of Rs 2,000. The money was used to purchase various ingredients used in making momos. They started with catering six-seven orders per day, mostly from friends and family to more than 30 orders and now deliver all over Delhi.

Ni-Varak

Ni-Varak is the brainchild of Chinnayya Math and Vaishali Chinnayya. It is a contactless mobile-based thermometer. The need for wide-screening of body temperatures during the pandemic fueled its invention. Using the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, it enables a contactless way of measuring temperatures, along with geo-location and time. It also registers with people’s Aadhaar cards and helps maintain the data on a remote server that can be accessed by government authorities. Vaishali Chinnayya started Nimble Vision - a tech company- in 2019, which has been involved in the business of IoT.

Women Entrepreneur Foundation

Iti Rawat founded Women Entrepreneur Foundation in 2018 to establish a support network for woman entrepreneurs, guiding them with business pitches and providing sources of financial capital. However, WEFT shifted its focus from women entrepreneurship to women protection and empowerment during the COVID-19 crisis. WEFT launched the ‘Red Dot Initiative’, as a means to reach out, rescue and rehabilitate women who were suffering from domestic abuse and any form of violence during the lockdwon. The initiative has saved and rehabilitated as many as 73 women since then.

Enklose

Enklose is a coverall by Abiti Bella Enterprises.  Rakhi Khera founded Abiti Bella Enterprises in 2014 and has been generating good revenue. However, because of the lockdown, the firm incurred huge losses and didn't earn any penny in the first two months of lockdown.  It was then that Khera came up with the idea of Enklose, a coverall that can be used by domestic maids, beauty salon workers, and hotel employees. It is a cost-effective, reusable, and washable overall. Need to Bridge Information Gap Among Aspiring Women Entrepreneurs in Bihar: Experts.

Another inspiring story of a woman entrepreneur who started her business in COVID-19 comes from Kashmir's Pulwama.

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There are many such success stories of women entrepreneurs who sailed through the pandemic and established an identity for themselves. The list goes on with women outshining the COVID-19 crisis and converting the adversity into opportunity. They are real-life examples of the bookish lesson  'Where there is a will, there is a way.'

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 21, 2020 07:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).