Storeowner And Businesswoman: Mamta Devi

Storeowner And Businesswoman: Mamta Devi

At the entry point of Mohiuddinpur Village – one can find proud storeowner and spirited entrepreneur Mamta Devi. Up until last year, she and her family were struggling financially, when she decided to take matters into her own hands and turn their situation around.

Mamta Devi is a 32-year-old woman who lives with her husband Santosh Kumar and three children (2 boys and a girl) in Mohiuddinpur Village in Bihar’s Nalanda District. To support the family, Santosh sold packets of chips out of his bicycle in nearby villages and Mamta Devi set up a small stall near the village entry point selling packaged snacks and eggs.

In March 2021, Oxfam India’s Holistic Rural Development Programme (HRDP) team met Mamta for the first time. This Oxfam India-HDFC initiative— ‘Project Utthan’— contributes towards the socio-economic empowerment of people from marginalised communities by aiding them with sustainable livelihood options and improving access to essential services (especially women) across 15 villages in three blocks in Nalanda.

The HRDP team decided to support Mamta’s business endeavour with Conditional Cash Transfer; she received Rs 12,000 to renovate her stall. They not only provided her with financial support, they also gave her guidance on running a business, which proved to be a massive boost for her confidence and helped her believe in herself.

Mamta and her husband set up a grocery shop since the village did not have one. At first, they rented a shop at Rs 1500 per month and their small business continued to grow. The family witnessed an increase in their income. They also added amenities such as a refrigerator and an electronic weighing machine to their shop.

Not only did the family manage to establish a business but they also had the confidence to address their other problems. Watching Mamta Devi’s business flourish, their landlord started pestering them to vacate their shop. She and her husband decided to solve this problem permanently by purchasing a small metal shack which could house their inventory, sell their products and have an electricity connection. They are now the proud owners of their shop and no longer have to worry about rent.   

The family is very happy with this new setup. Mamta Devi and her husband are very grateful to the HRDP Team and HDFC Bank for their support and helping them turn their life around.

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