Kamrup Rural: Dhriiti – The Courage Within and InterGlobe Foundation on, September 20th organized Udyamita Mela 2022 at Shanti Nizora Club, Bamunigaon Camp, Kamrup, Assam. The Udyamita Mela was organized to celebrate women’s entrepreneurship in the Chhaygaon/Bangaon region and provide a platform for local government bodies like Chhaygaon and Bangaon Block Development Office, various local & national NGOs working in the region, Self Help Groups (SHGs) of the region and individual entrepreneurs to come together, create a strong network and build a system for rural women entrepreneurship.

The Udyamita Mela also marked the successful implementation of Project Pragati (Arecanut Leaf Plate Cluster development initiative) by Dhriiti – The Courage Within and InterGlobe Foundation in the region in partnership with Tamul Plates Marketing Pvt. Ltd. The Udyamita Mela felicitated the women entrepreneurs associated with Project Pragati who completed their 4-year long journey of women entrepreneurship.

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Rekibuddin Ahmed, MLA Chhaygaon Constituency was the Guest of Honour. Other guests and representatives from InterGlobe Foundation and Tamul Plates Marketing Pvt. Ltd. were also present at the Udyamita Mela.

The program was designed to be a learning and sharing space for rural women entrepreneurs. Sessions were conducted by the Bangaon and Chhaygaon Block Office on the farm and nonfarm livelihoods, financial inclusion, and digital finance implemented through the Block Development Office.

To expose the women to relatable role models, sessions were conducted by Runa Rafique, (Founder,  Blue Planet Amalgamated), Monalisa Borthakur (Founder, Amby Gold, Guwahati) and  Podumi Boro,(a local entrepreneur and founder, Yugadrasta Lokabastra Industry, Bamunigaon) with a vision to motivate more women from the region to choose the path of entrepreneurship. 

‘This is a momentous occasion for us at Dhriiti. Project Pragati has been successful in creating a very positive ecosystem for the development of Arecanut Leaf Plate Manufacturing in the region. Over the last 4 years, the project has built the Arecanut leaf plate manufacturing cluster with 30 women entrepreneurs with a home-based manufacturing set-up and 350 women raw material collectors and machine operators.

This Udyamita Mela is a celebration of not only the women entrepreneurs of Project Pragati but also of women entrepreneurship in the region. We sincerely believe that this celebration and recognition will motivate many more rural women to choose the path of Women Entrepreneurship in the region.’

– Anirban Gupta, Co-founder, Dhriiti – The Courage Within

‘InterGlobe Foundation is pleased to have partnered with Dhriiti to realise the goals of- economic independence and self-reliance for women in rural Assam. IGF internalizes the fact that independence coupled with a deep orientation of other social issues would pave the way for women to gain agency and voice to manage their commons. Nurturing their strengths and leadership abilities while promoting natural resources based small enterprises amongst these women from diverse backgrounds had deeply satisfying outcomes for all stakeholders.’ – Dr Monica Banerjee, Head, IGF

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