Meghalaya’s women entrepreneurs explore new avenues to create success stories

Tucked away in a quiet by-lane in downtown Shillong is the showroom of Candid Shoes, a designer shoe brand founded by Andrina Thabah, who is among the 77 women beneficiaries of Meghalaya’s Promotion and Incubation of Market Driven Enterprises (PRIME) incubation programme.

In Meghalaya, a matrilineal state, the entrepreneurial zeal is high, with women making up 60% of the entrepreneurs. And, thanks to PRIME, women are exploring diverse forms of entrepreneurship including making shoes, candles, turmeric, and silk to even launching digital marketing businesses.

“This sizeable number of women entrepreneurs reflects strongly on the way we are. In the entire process, when it comes to small entrepreneurs and self-help groups, we are seeing a lot of response from rural women,” Chief Minister Conrad Sangma says in an interview with HerStory.

Launched in 2019, PRIME offers entrepreneurs comprehensive programmes in incubation, mentorship, training, funding access and networking.

Meghalaya focuses on an entrepreneurship model with three different layers. Leading from the top are innovations–products and processes that are tech-driven. The second is about basic entrepreneurship where value is added to certain products. The third level focuses on entrepreneurship programmes at the grassroots level and self-help groups (SHGs).

The state’s multi-pronged approach towards entrepreneurship is seeing a rise in women entrepreneurs.

CM Sangma cites examples of Laskein Block in Jaintia Hills where 15 women’s SHGs have been funded for solar-powered turmeric processing units. Already, Lakadong turmeric grown in these Hills is famous for having one of the highest curcumin content of all turmeric produced in India and globally.

HerStory takes you on a tour of the different by-lanes and roads of Shillong and into the heart of women’s entrepreneurship.

The birth of an idea

At the PRIME headquarters in Shillong, Mansha Sharma and Pinak Deb of Digital Fuel, Shillong’s leading full-stack digital marketing agency wait for us. They have an office on the premises and are thankful for the space to work from, interact, and learn from other entrepreneurs and experts.

Sharma and Deb are second-generation entrepreneurs who met through mutual friends. They started Digital Fuel in June 2022 and onboarded Scottie’s, a QSR run by Deb and his family in Guwahati as their first client. There have been many lessons along the way.

“For the first three months, we charged a negligible amount, going from office to office to explain how we could help businesses gain more traction through digital marketing. We offer marketing, web design and development, and social media,” Sharma explains. They say the market is filled with homegrown brands who need help with taking their products pan-India or even global.

Profitable from the beginning, Digital Fuel is one of the foremost companies in Meghalaya who has made a turnaround for businesses, spending as less as Rs 10,000 to generate leads. They hope to move out of the PRIME office soon to their own premises.

Best foot forward

A BCom graduate, Candid Shoes-founder Thabah worked at a few jobs before she deciding to fall back on her passion of shoes.

“I have been crazy about shoes from childhood like most girls and women in Meghalaya. We coordinate our outfits with classy shoes and I own 90 pairs of shoes myself. I decided the best way to cash in on the shoe craze is to provide quality shoes to women in Shillong,” she says.

In the beginning, Thabah looked around in local markets and in Guwahati to source shoes–adding a few accessories and embellishments to make them look unique. She started a WhatsApp group of family, friends, and friends of friends and the word spread. Her biggest advantage was that she stocked small sizes from 33 onwards; she informs me that Meghalaya women have small feet.

When business started picking up, she opened her first store in February 2020. But the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted her plans. However, she did not let this dampen her spirit and reopened her store once the situation eased. She now sources shoes from Agra as well as China.

Weaving new avenues

In another by-lane stands the Kiniho boutique studio, run by Ibalarihun Mallai.

“After working in the corporate sector in Bengaluru for eight years, I felt stifled and decided to return to Shillong. I was always interested in starting a business in fashion and textiles because that is where my interests lie. With a management degree I thought this would be the right time to take a plunge,” she says.

Opting for sustainable fabric, Mallai zeroed in on Eri silk or Ahimsa silk and went back to the community where she was raised in Ri Bhoi, meeting weavers and artisans to understand how best the silk can be used beyond the stoles and shawls.

“We now fashion garments out of Eri Silk, including jainsen the traditional Meghalaya dress for women worn during traditional functions. We have also extended our line to include sarees, runners, cushion covers and other accessories,” she adds. She works with 16 weavers at Kiniho’s unit in Ra Jhoi.

Scent of a beginning

Merisha Toi is another returnee to Shillong, having lost her job as a cabin crew with a leading international airline during the pandemic. However, her fascination for scented candles and collecting them on her visits to different cities around the world laid the foundation for a business of her own. Toi runs 24 Degrees Scented Candles from her tastefully decorated home in Shillong.

“I started making candles from home after I came back, encouraged by a few courses I added traditional fragrances, essential oils and dried flowers and also gave them different shapes and designs. I started posting about these on Instagram, and soon, started getting orders,” she says.

Harnessing the power of social media

Most women-led businesses rely heavily on social media to promote their products.

Thabah started off with a Facebook page but Candid Shoes now has its own loyal followers on Instagram.

“Most of my customers look at my Instagram page to know about the latest arrivals and then visit my store. Our page also attracts online orders, and so our consistent effort is to engage with our audience and know more about what they like and keeping in touch with the latest trends,” she says.

Toi runs her business entirely through a business account on Instagram.

“I post pictures of my products on the page and all our orders come through Instagram. Right now, you can say my business runs mainly because of Instagram,” she says.

“When we have free social media platforms, why not use them to our advantage,” asks Mallai.

Support and scaling

Aditya Sen, Project Head, PRIME attributes the rise in women entrepreneurs to their hard work and other socio-cultural factors.

“Due to the matrilineal society prevailing in the state, the land is in the woman’s name. The women are also very talented and ambitious and very open to trying out new things. At any given time, women usually have at least two to three different sources of income. Some work full-time jobs and run their own businesses during the evening hours.”

Mallai started Kiniho out of a small weaving shed with three weavers.

“I approached the government officials who told me about PRIME and they helped me with a grant. Continued financial support in the form of interest-free loans and other schemes have helped me scale Kiniho,” she says.

Toi started 24 Degrees Scented Candles with a Rs 1 lakh government grant. She is grateful for the support from PRIME has helped her with networking through participation in exhibitions and marketing advice.

Thabah’s Candid Shoes has now spawned a number of shoe brands selling through Instagram and retail stores.

Challenges, however, remain.

“I have to be constantly on my toes and innovate. My baby is just five months old and it’s been difficult to juggle both my business and home but I am trying. My customers expect me to be around at all my three stores but sometimes, this is not possible,” she says.

Thabah hopes to start a manufacturing unit for shoes in Shillong soon.

(The author visited Shillong at the invitation of the Meghalaya government.)

(The copy was updated to correct a spelling error.)