Pursuing the dreams

Arokia Jansi is a resident of Anandha Nagar in Puducherry. The 35-year-old mother of two children is a spirited woman and has been working in the tailoring field for more than 10 years. She mainly accepts orders for stitching traditional women’s clothing like churidar, blouses and shawls etc.

Her transformation to a successful entrepreneur was not a cakewalk. After her marriage, unlike other women in her village, she was determined to be financially independent and wanted to contribute to family. She talked to her new family about her business ideas, and despite initial resistance, kept on asserting her aspirations and pursued them to follow her dreams.

However, working capital remained a problem as she could not provide any collateral security demanded by the local lenders. Luckily for her, she was introduced to Muthoot Microfin and was excited to know about the company’s collateral-less microfinance loans. Arokia Jansi joined a JLG and availed her first loan of ₹30,000 and used the entire amount to purchase a sewing machine, fabrics and other equipment to start her venture at a rented shop near her home.

After a few months into the business, she acquired more customers and became independent and eventually, able to fully support her children’s education and some family expenses. Arokia Jansi is now looking to further expand her business and employ local village women as assistants to cater to the growing demand.

She has been associated with Muthoot Microfin for the last three years and has taken 3 loans from the organization. The current loan of ₹50,000 was used to buy more embroidery and other sewing equipments for the planned expansion. Her business is flourishing now and brings her a good daily income of around ₹1000 on an average.

Arokia Jansi says “Muthoot Microfin became a constant companion in my growth and development; I would like to extend my association with it and will recommend the organisation to all who wants to advance in their life.”