Kuldip Maity

How did VFS become the hope for so many aspiring women entrepreneurs in rural India?

This is a question that I get asked way more often than I can count.

My answer always remains the same: perseverance and integrity.

Working in the right direction with ethics and principles has made us a household name of trust and hope. Our executives and our women customers help us spread the boon of microfinance.

Over the decades, we have been a part of many growth stories. We nurtured many entrepreneurs from the initial days. After they took their first steps, they spread their wings and soared to new destinations.

These long-standing customers have given us valuable insights about guiding budding entrepreneurs. This continuous cycle of life has instilled a sense of belonging in our environment. My past blogs have honoured our budding entrepreneurs and their growth story. I dedicate this blog to one such veteran who has chosen us for life and has been a source of inspiration for many.

Habiba Sardar chose the Village Financial Services family for 15 years. This entrepreneur from Koloraha gave VFS a chance to change her life when the world took it away from her. Today she is thankful that she chose to strive hard with VFS instead of giving up.

Habiba, a mother of three, has been running a tailoring and garment manufacturing unit for a little more than 30 years now. Today, her manufacturing unit has become a source of livelihood for tailors in her village. While the lockdowns of the COVID19 pandemic did cast darkness in the lives around the manufacturing unit, that was temporary.

But life hadn't been a bed of roses for Habiba. Her manufacturing unit had seen days of turmoil before it saw prosperity.

Years ago, when Habiba had just arrived at her village as a new bride, the situation wasn't favourable for working women. Habiba, with a talent for stitching and knitting, had refused to bow to the societal taboos. Her husband came to her support and encouraged her to open a tailoring shop at their home.

Days turned to years, and Habiba continued to earn a small living from her shop. But soon her sales started dropping. She realised that most of her customers, who were the young women in her village didn't, have a living of their own. Most of them didn't have the luxury to earn a living because of the regressive culture that kept them in darkness forever. Habiba realised that she could not expect growth for her business when the people in her surroundingswere not growing.

Habiba decided to change the narrative that kept the talented women of her village away from prosperity. She challenged the regressive societal norms and set out on a mission to empower them. Habib realised that to grow her venture she needed capital but no one in her village was ready to give her the necessary loan.

After a long search, Habiba reached a VFS branch. And her remarkable story began.

For years, Habiba took young women from her village under her wings and trained them as expert tailors. The small manufacturing unit became a hope for the village when they finally saw what empowered women can achieve.

Customers like Habiba teach us a valuable lesson:
Wisdom comes with age, courage comes with a soul, and inspiration comes with perseverance.

The year 2020 was nothing short of a nightmare for business owners. Starting from owners of small and medium-sized businesses to large corporate houses, the COVID19 lockdowns spared none.

Yes, it was a nightmare, the one that our mothers or grandmothers used to tell us to make us shut our eyelids and fall asleep. But every night has an ending. It ends with the rising sun. When the first rays of the sun hit the soil, there is hope for a new lease of life.

With the end of the second wave of COVID-19, the outlook for most people changed completely. The pandemic had reminded us about the fleeting seconds of life. The vulnerability of our tomorrows. The existential crises, perhaps, pinched us more, coupled with the financial crises.

Every crisis forces us to act. Many were forced to re-imagine their lives, their decisions, their choices.

This was the birth of hope. As most business owners started to reconstruct their ways of doing business, many employees, workers and other stakeholders were also forced to go through the same route of decision-making. Many chose to stop being an employee and turn an entrepreneur.

Champa Rani Roy, a resident of a small village of Dansi, Dharmatala, was working in a handicraft manufacturing unit. Her work was to decorate different types of garments with glittering embroidery. Mother of a 14-year-old, Champa’s dreams were humble. She wanted a comfortable life for her family and a healthy future for her son. Her husband is a factory worker.

Life had its usual ups and downs, but the Roy family weathered them all with ease. But the March of 2020 turned their lives upside and down. During the lockdown, both Champa and her husband lost their jobs. Champa felt that the entire sky collapsed over her head. With just a few hundred rupees in her purse, she looked outside her window...

Fast forward to June 2021.

There is a long queue outside Champa’s house. Everyone is following the COVID19 distancing protocols. Each person is standing inside a circle made of chalk sticks. When one of the VFS executives went to her house, this was the scene he saw from a distance. A grocer now, Champa was busy attending to the customers. There was not a second to be spared for a breather. The VFS executive had to wait an hour before he could manage to take her interview. It was worth the wait.

Over a cup of tea, Champa began to narrate her journey from unemployment to entrepreneurship, from financial crisis to financial stability...

...with those few hundred rupees, Champa walked to the nearest grocery store. It was in the next village. The lockdown had eased, a few stores had opened, a few hadn’t. Champa took a note of the ones that were open for business and the ones that didn’t.

An idea started to take shape. What would happen if she could open her own grocery? But where would the money come from?

She met a grocery store owner and asked her how she had started. “I took a loan from VFS,” the shopkeeper replied. Champa took down the address of the nearby VFS branch and the process of taking a loan. She joined a joint liability group, Diya, where a group of women from her village had come together to take charge of their financial growth. The next thing was to apply for a loan. In a few days, Champa was one of VFS’s aspiring customers. With the capital in hand, she converted the spare room in her house into a grocery.

Since then, Champa never had to turn back to the days of darkness. For her, the grocery became her rising Sun. It was the birth of an entrepreneur.

Last Saturday, the nation ended five days of Diwali revelry with the celebration of the affectionate bonds between brothers and sisters.

Bhai Dooj, Bhaubeej, Bhai Tika or Bhai Phonta—the names differs from region to region but the prayers remain the same... “May my brother live a long prosperous life”. It is the devotion of sisters that shieldstheir brothers from harm. Bhai Dooj, in which girls and women put tilaks on their brothers and pray for their long life, strengthens sibling bonds.

There are many legends surrounding this Hindu festival.

According to one legend, Yamuna, the twin sister of Yamaraj, the Lord of Death, yearned to meet her brother and he came to see her. She greeted him with sweets, put a tilak (a sacred mark on the forehead), and served a sumptuous feast. Yamaraj was so moved by his sister's devotion and care that he announced that a brother who receives tilak from his sister on Bhratri Dwitiya will never have to visit hell.

In Bengal, the sing-song lyrical prayers uttered by sisters while putting the tilak go somewhat like this:
“As I mark my brother’s forehead,
I put a barrier in front of Yamraj’s door.
Wherever my brother visits
May he always be blessed with beautiful flowers and the aroma of sandalwood.”

During my journey of driving the mission and vision of Village Financial Services to empower Indian women as entrepreneurs, I have realised that it is not people like us who empower them; It is the women who empower us.

Scrolling through the stories of empowerment that we helped write during our microfinance journey, I have realised that it is the inspiration of our women borrowers, their prayers and their faith that make VFS executives embrace challenges and kindle the entrepreneurial spark.

Without the prayers and hope from our women customers, our journey would have been a futile exercise. We at VFS have drawn courage and strength from the tales of women going from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Without the handholding support that our sisters got from their brothers (the VFS executives), the entrepreneurial journeys would have not started. Nor would VFS have become one of the most reputable microfinance institutions.

Another legend has it that Lord Krishna, after defeating the demon Narakasura, was given a grand reception by his sister Subhadra. As a protective mark, Subhadra put a tilak on Lord Krishna's forehead.

In our reality, it is our Subhadras who defeat the demon of poverty and unemployment, whereas our brothers, our executives, guide them in their journey towards victory with the weapon of microfinance.

VFS celebrates the sacred bond between the brothers and sisters every day. Touching nearly 500,000 people with the prosperity and financial stability of microfinance, I have realised that this feat has been possible because of the symbiotic bond of mutual trust and handheld co-growth between our inspiring women customers and hardworking executives.

There is no doubt that the prayers of our sisters have the power to save lives from the jaws of hell. With this confidence, I vow that VFS will go on guiding our sisters and empowering them in their journey towards financial prosperity.

If you want to see the beauty of unity in diversity, you must let your spirit explore the festival of Diwali.

The history of Diwali is as diverse as the culture of India. For many, it is the celebration of the homecoming of Lord Rama. The exile of 14 years ended with the intense battle in Lanka. In the war, the demonic forces of Ravanafell before the forces of Lord Rama. Following Ram’s homecoming, Ayodhya’speople rejoiced by lighting up rows of lamps.

The word Diwalidraws its meaning from "rows of light". This celebration of homecoming has passed down the ages and has spread all over the world.

In southern parts of India, Diwali marks the victory of Lord Krishna over the demon of Narakasura. In the eastern region, it is the victory of Goddess Kali over the demonic Asuras.

Amongst the Jain community, Diwali marks the passing commemoration of the 24th Tirthankara Mahavira and his attainment of Moksha. In Sikhism, it celebrates the release of the sixth guru, Guru Hargobind, from imprisonment.

I can go on and on, writing about the historical variation associated with Diwali. My point is to show that we may differ in our causes but we are united in our celebration. Each of us celebrates this day by illuminating our homes and our hearts. Diyas and candles brighten up our houses while hope and courage enlighten our souls.

The past 20 months or so have been a long arduous struggle against COVID-19. The second wave had cast a pall over the country. While many fought for life, many fought a waragainst poverty and unemployment.

In the darkness, our frontline workers toiled day and night to keep us safe and alive. Doctors, nurses, medical staff, NGOs and health workers put their life at risk to save as many as they can. Some they saved, some they could not. The devastating picture broke our hearts. Our police personnel, government officials, and every member from the essential services made our life of comfort their priority instead of their own life. Words and accolades will fail to convey our gratitude for their service in this crucial phase.

Every dark night can be illuminated with light.

We all must agree, amidst all of this, our MSME entrepreneurs have suffered the most. The lockdowns have surely been a nightmare for most of them. But it also gave them time to sit and re-focus, re-develop and reset their goals. Thus, with the ‘Unlock’ when they came back to their stations, there was a renewed spirit as they reinvented their ways of doing business.

In other words, they underwent a digital metamorphosis and emerged as Global Entrepreneurs.

I had always emphasised that the pandemic, with all its drawbacks and negatives, is a learning curve. Hurdles are not full stops but pauses in our ways, to make us ready to embrace the future.

I am glad to witness that our young generation has stepped up to the crease with confidence.

Diwali 2020 was a hope for a better future.

In Diwali 2021 the future is here, illuminated with ambitions and innovations.