Britannia Industries Ltd. (BIL) is currently sifting the million-plus applications that it received from unemployed homemakers who responded to an initiative launched by the company to make them entrepreneurs.
BIL realised that many women were looking for fulfilment outside of their domestic chores by starting their own small enterprise.
So, in its centenary year in 2018, BIL launched the ‘Britannia MarieGold-Mystartup’ initiative as a promotional campaign, said an official. It created a ₹1 crore purse for the purpose.
“We chose the 60-year old Marie Gold due to its association with the homemakers as a buyer as well as a consumer. We felt that there has a been significant evolution in the way a woman looks at things now.. she is now looking beyond the home.. she now has her own dreams,” Ali Harris Shere vice-president, marketing Britannia, told The Hindu.
Change catalyst
BIL realised that it could play a role in inspiring and supporting these women to chase their dreams and become a change-catalyst. We felt the need to help more women to participate in the process of growing the economy, he said.
To that end, it rolled out the Britannia Marie Gold Indian Women Entrepreneurship Survey Report 2018. Conducted by Nielsen, this study revealed that homemakers had the aspirations of embarking on a entrepreneurship journey and finding financial independence.
Results that came in last month showed 48% of the respondents had harboured dreams of launching a business and gaining financial independence, in their youth. Most of them identified fund crunch as the biggest hurdle, with half of them seeking counselling to help them start. Nearly all said that they would be happy to see their daughters run their own business. The top two States in terms of registration were Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Armed with these findings, BIL launched an initiative to help register their keenness to set up a business. This drew over a million responses.
“BIL will shortlist 50 women from whom 10 would be selected for getting ₹10 lakh each to launch their businesses,” Mr. Ali said adding that mentoring networks may also be set up to help the women embark on their entrepreneurial journey.
