For an entrepreneur, looking after a business is just like caring for a growing child. No obstacle, however big, can ever blunt hope. Temporary setbacks are countered with grit so that they stay just that. Temporary.

Take the story of Sumitra Sarkar of Hasnabad in West Bengal.

Sumitra’s husband Chiranjit never wanted to be a wage earner in a bag-manufacturing company. He dreamt of his own factory but lacked the capital. Sumitra also always wanted to start something but could not figure out the exact business she wanted to pursue. They decided to put Chiranjit’s skills to better use and start their entrepreneurial journey together.

But business is not only about skills. It needs financial acumen along with capital. Borrowing from local money lenders was not an option. While Village Financial Services would finance their idea complete with handholding, they had to be a part of a Joint Liability Group to get a VFS loan. A JLG has like-minded women with similar entrepreneurial dreams. It was time to take the first step as an entrepreneur—that of team building, forming a consortium of like-minded business aspirants! And Sumitra came out with flying colours.

There has been no looking back for Sumitra. With a working partnership with her husband, financial support from VFS, and regular handholding by VFS representatives, the bag-manufacturing business kept growing. While Sumitra managed the production, Chiranjit developed business relationships with the wholesalers of Burrabazar, Kolkata, who were buying the bags from them.

But running a business has never been smooth all the way, and the Sarkars were no exception.

As with everyone, the pandemic and the lockdowns have hit the business hard. With schools being closed for over a year now, there is no market for school bags or backpacks. Even carry bag sales shrivelled. The Burrabazar wholesale market and retail stores were badly affected by the lockdown restrictions. Add to this the two cyclones, which led to waterlogging in Hasnabad and made communications a huge challenge.

Just when the business started recuperating from the first phase of the COVID-19 lockdown and the impact of Cyclone Amphan last year came the second wave and Cyclone Yaas in 2021. When my office spoke to Sumitra, the region was still waterlogged, making regular business impossible.

But every cloud has a silver lining. The streak of hope has come in the form of an order from a major nationalised bank. As a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility, the bank is supplying relief material to the areas affected by Cyclone Yaas and has ordered bags from Sumitra. Along with it has come the hope of revival.

I cannot express the great feeling that swept through me when my team mentioned that Sumitra has also enquired about the possibility of larger financial assistance. It indicates that they have put the negative behind them and started to dream again. Having a dream is extremely important for any entrepreneur to prosper.

My prayers are with all my borrowers, and I am eager to hear more such revival stories.

This brings up the most important aspect of microfinance. It is not only poverty that our customers are fighting. They are also up against the various uncertainties of life and Nature. Having meagre savings multiplies the impact of anything negative that happens in their lives.

Microfinance companies such as VFS must nurture entrepreneurs and support them to help them recover from such situations.