Sixwomenwithendlessideasandunboundaspirations:UBTMSinspiresentrepreneurialinnovations

MitaliGhosh1

DhananjayRay2

Thecontext

Gender equality forms one of the important Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of theUnited Nations (UN). Earlier, Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) emphasized financialinclusion as one of the strategies for poverty eradication. Driven by the global calls, diverseresponseshavemanifested,oneofthemostsignificantonesbeingcollectivizationofwomenasself-helpgroups,withanentrypointbeingsavingsandcredit.UBTMS-CDHIhavebeenactivelypursuingthisagendaeversincetheycameintobeing.

UBTMS-CDHIstronglybelieveinsocialintermediationasanintegralpartofanyeffortatgenderequality. The issueofgenderequalityor inequality is relatedtoa largersocial structureandpowerdynamics.Withouthavingstrongsocialintermediationeffortsaimedatgenderequality,financialandphysicalintermediationsmaynotbringaboutasustainablechange.UBTMS-CDHIbelieve in the agentic capabilities of human beings (men and women), which have equalpotential to develop and unleash, given an enabling environment. As a firm believer in theabove,UBTMS-CDHIhasbeenprovokingandinspiringwomentochallengepowerasymmetriesanddemonstrate their potential. Beginningwithwomen in agriculture (1995),wehavebeenproactively facilitating a level playing field for the women. We consider ‘innovation andentrepreneurship’asimportantfactorstocontributetounleashingpursuitsforequality.

Entrepreneurshipinnovationaward

Therehavebeenannualevents, likeMahila-MilanSabha(womenmeetings)andconferences,to bring women from different districts and regions with their entrepreneurial innovations,both products and processes. They have offered opportunities to relate with each other’s

1Chairperson,UttarBangoTeraiMahilaSamitee(UBTMS), Jalpaiguri.NorthBengal’sonlymembers’ownedandmanagedwomen self-help group federation.UBTMShasbeen inspiringwomenmembers for financial inclusionand entrepreneurial innovations. Six women, out of federation’s 8000members, showed their entrepreneurialinnovations following a yearlong selection process. I am thankful to Prof. RajeshwarMishra for his advice andmentoring the process; members of UBTMS for their involvement and participation and CDHI team for theirconstantsupport.2 Executive Director and Secretary, Centre for the Development of Human Initiatives (CDHI), Jalpaiguri, WestBengal.

innovationsandcustomizeandadopt them to individual contexts. Thishasbeencatchingupand therehasbeenunleashingof innovations.Thewomen fromSHGsandcollective farminggroups have shown their grit and confidence in trail blazing new approaches, products andprocesses.

Buildingonthesame,2017witnessedauniqueinitiativeoforganizinganinnovationawardforthewomenshowcasingtheir‘solutionstoemergingissues’.Theideawastonotonlyshowcaseinnovationsbuttoofferaplatformwherevariousinnovationscouldbecomparedandshared.Thiswassupposedtoofferacompetitiveenvironmentandanenvironmentforpeer learning.Yet another objective was to bring various actors and partners from different sectors tocollaborativelyreflecton‘howthingsevolveandhowtheycanbeup-scaled’.

Thestepsandstrategy

• Firstofall,theideawasdiscussedamongtheUBTMSmemberstoseekviewsandalsotocreate awareness about what makes ‘pursuit for equality real and possible’ usinginnovationasatool.ThishappenedthroughaseriesofreflectivesessionsattheUBTMSheadquartersand,simultaneously,spreadoverdifferentregions.

• Next was formulation of innovative ideas at different regions and sharpening andfinalizing innovativeproposalswhichcamefromdifferentclustersandgroups.Expertsand practitioners acted asmoderators and facilitators. This was an interesting phasewherethe innovatorsstronglydefended/contestedtheir ideasand insights.Therewasalwaysinaspiritofmutualappreciation.

• The proposals, having been sharpened and finalized, were finally submitted. A jurycomprisingofbankers,governmentofficials,academics,practitionersfromcivilsocietyand SHGmembers screened theproposals and short listed them for thenext round.Thisphasehelpedthejuryunderstandtheextenttowhichentrepreneurialinnovationswere present among the womenmembers. To quote one of the jury members, ‘wenever have realized these women were so richly endowed with such incisiveinnovations!’Anequallypoignantobservationcamefromanacademic,asmemberofthe jury, ‘the governmentmust rethink their interventions. Rather than investing inphysical and financial infrastructure and assets there should be equal emphasis oninvestinginsocialandpsychologicalendowments-buildingofself-efficacy.Thisprocessshouldofferimportantlessonforsocialdevelopment’.

• Personal defense was the final step in which the contestants faced the jury andrespondedtoalltheirqueriesandpointedquestions.Theoccasionprovedeyeopening.Allfears,apprehensionsandself-doubtsmeltedaway.They,alreadyintothefinalstage,

haddevelopedconfidencetotakethequestionsinstride.RitaBhagwat,awomanfromthetribalcommunityinUttarChakowakheti,Alipurduar,tookthejury’squestionsasaseasonedprofessional.JharnaKarjee,anotherwomanfromaSCcommunity,Dhaloguri,Coochbehar,demonstratedherriskappetite,whichhadneveroccurredtothejury.Thefounder chairperson of UBTMS, Lakhi Rani Roy, Joradighi, Coochbehar, was morenatural; for her, the trajectory of women entrepreneurship is interesting and there isnothingthattheycannotresolve.

Thecelebration-‘Wowintheair-wedidit!’

Onthe30thofAugust2018,apleasantbreezeswept throughthesprawlingcampusofCDHI-UBTMS.Thedecoratedcanopy(Pandel)inthecourtyardpresentedafestivemood.Someofthe530oddmembershadreachedthecampusthepreviousnightandtheywerebusyrevisingtheirpresentations.

By10AM,theparticipantsstartedtricklinginwithmusicandsong.Dressedintheirbestfestiveattire, theireyesdemonstrated theirunboundaspirationsandconfidencewhile their successwaswritlargeontheirproudfaces.Nottobeimpolite,thewinnersdisplayeddeephumility–acknowledgingtheUBTMSmentoringprocessaswellasfamilysupport.Gradually,the500plusseatswerefullyoccupiedandthosewhoarrivedlaterpreferredtostand.

The guests comprising the jury and others arrived and were welcomed with thunderousapplaud.Thetimetoannouncethefirst threeawardscreatedrestlessnessandsomeanxiety,too.ThechairpersonofUBTMSwelcomedtheguestsandcollectivelyapplaudedallthosewhohaveparticipatedintheawardandthosewhodidnot.Sheencouragedthemtobeinnovativeand not to take their respective positions in this competition as the only measure of theirsuccess.Sheinvitedeverybodytoapplaud,whichwasrespondedbyathunderousclapping.Thejurywere equally supportive and one of themobserved, ‘all proposalswere clear, practicalandgood.Theyalldeserveapplaudandappreciation’.

Pictures1-2:Happinessofachievementandsmilingfaceofawardwinners–Rita,Jharna,BabyandSupriyafromdifferentwomenSHGsandcollectivefarminggroups.

The announcement of the first, second and third showed innovation in choice and precisionwhich the jury arrived at. All the three positions were clubbed-every category had twowinners.RitaBhagwat (UttarChakuakheti,Alipurduar)andJharna (Dhaloguri,Coochbehar)werejointfirsts,ShubhraChakroborty(Topamari,Jalpaiguri)andLaxmiRaniRoy(Joradighi,Coochbehar) were declared joint seconds and Supriya Ghosh (Pandapara, Jalpaiguri) andBaby Ray (Kaliaganj, Jalpaiguri) were declared joint thirds. The announcement wasresponded, again, by thunderous applause and lingering clapping. They all expressed theirhappinessandconsideredtheeventasagreatoccasion.

Forthejury,thiswasonceinalifetimeexperience.Thebankmanagerobserved,‘IwouldhavegreatlymissedhadInotmadeit’.Fortheacademics,‘itwasalessontobepassedontoothermembers of academia and students of gender studies’. The government official consideredthis as ‘an opportunity to make linkage with their ongoing programs’. One of theprofessionalsworkingwithaninternationalprojectobserved,‘ithassomuchtooffer-itwasagreatlearning’.

Takeaways

Theeventandtheprocessoffereddiversetakeaways.Forthewomenmembers,itneedstobecontinuedwith continuedbackstopping toexpandandunleashentrepreneurship’. Someofthem realized that ‘theeventoffered lessons tobemore systematicanddisciplined in theirfunctioning’. ForLaxmiRaniRoy,thefounderchairperson,itwasanoccasiontoconfirmthat‘We canmake it-we canbring changes–wehave the capability’. Forme (Mitali) itwas anastonishing feat, this shows, ‘together canwe cover extramileswith innovation and ideascreatingnewpathways.ForSumita, Joy,SubrataandBenu(thewomanand men inthewarroom),‘thiswasthebeginningofanewjourney–upholdingandencouragingaspirationsisthe

key-sucheventsofferspeedandfocus’.Ourconvictionwasconfirmedthat‘self-efficacyiswhatwouldmake thedifference. The route togenderequality is challengingbut innovationandefficacymaymaketherouteeasierandconducive’,remarkedProf.Rajeshwar.Forhim,awardwinning innovations by the women from Uttar Chakowakheti and Dhaulaguri (both thevillages under DSI4MTF-SIAGI) shows that our Ethical Community Engagement (ECE)perspectiveshelpdevelopinnovation.Encouraginginnovationandunleashingaspirationandactionmayhelpdevelopingself-efficacyandwellbeing.