Woman once rejected by banks employs many women | Fusion - WeRIndia

Only a few people are born with golden spoons. But for the majority of people, life is not a bed of roses. They have to struggle a lot. However, only a few people reach great heights, while many continue to struggle till the end.

Here is a woman who inspires many others. Lalita Debi Shing from Odisha was widowed at 24. She struggled a lot in her life.

Now, this 48-year-old woman established a paper plate-making unit at Amalabhata in the Rayagada district of Odisha and employed many women, including widows and the underprivileged.

Besides, she also provided training to more than 50 widows and school dropouts to make them sustain themselves financially without depending on others.

Lalitha had to drop out of her studies due to her poor background. She studied up to Class VIII and married at the age of 14. She became a mother to three sons. Her husband was a mechanic. He died of a disease.

She became the sole breadwinner to raise her sons. At that time, she realized the importance of education. She had done many works for her livelihood. Slowly, she learned to make paper plates. She wanted to start a paper plate-making unit.

Lalitha borrowed ₹15,000 and started a small unit. She understood that it was not easy to succeed in a business.

She lacked the finances to expand the business. When she approached banks for a business loan, they rejected her, asking for collateral.

But, later with the help of Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST), she got a loan of ₹1.1 lakh from UCO bank. She also availed a loan of ₹5 lakhs to buy machines and raw materials later.

With the help of BYST, she learned how to succeed in a business. Since then, no turning back for her. Now, she empowers many women.

The turnover of her company is ₹25 lakhs, with a profit of over ₹3.5 lakhs. Her business has been growing over the past few years. Even during the pandemic, her business was not affected.

Lalitha received Vijayalakshmi Das Entrepreneurship Award as a successful entrepreneur. The Odisha state government also felicitated her for her efforts to uplift women.

Image Credit: Alanthebox, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Reference: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paper_plates_-_isolated.png