On International Women’s Day, SIDBI CSR honoured the zeal and grit of livelihood homepreneurs by gifting them an automatic Sanitary Pad unit. On this occasion Shri V.S.V Rao, DMD, SIDBI virtually inaugurated the ”Sanitary Pad Making Unit” – one of the initiative under ‘Sundari Swavalamban Sarathi’ ( Sundari is the brand being promoted for products, swavalamban is self reliance mission of sidbi and sarathi reflects trust harbinger or realising their dreams) at Baikunthapur, Sunderban, South 24 Paragans, West Bengal. It may be mentioned that S3 is an initiative under which different empowering themes are being supported for self sustainability. In February CMD SIDBI had inaugurated the unit 1 under S3 for making ornaments out of fish scales.

SIDBI has been supporting the amphan cyclone impacted villages through BTS an NGO with deep footprints there. Initial engagement was to ensure subsistence and now series of sustenance support is continuing. We call it mission “Subsistence to Sustenance”.

Under the Sanitary pad initiative ( inaugurated today) women of 50 families are being assisted by partner NGO to set up a self sustainable micro enterprise where womenpreneurs shall engage in manufacturing of sanitary pad. Earlier to change the oriental hygiene practice they had started a manual sanitary pad initiative but quality output was a challenge and thus acceptability was an issue flagged by users. This new automised support ” For the Indian Women By the Indian Women” (हम से , हमारे लिए, ये हैं सुन्दरबन जमीं के दीये) along with initial 3-4 months working capital support shall emerge self sustainable in few months and shall be run on re deployable funds by these women.

Under S3 model, SIDBI supports makes 100 families emerge healthy as also entrepreneurial. The women expressed their happiness during the meet stating that this initiative will not only ensure hygiene in the society as also improve their family income/education level and overall prosperity. On this occasion DMD SIDBI congratulated the women preneurs and assured that SIDBI shall continue to walk along their entrepreneurial journey in future as well. He also thanked Baikhantapur Tarun Sangha (BTS) for its commitment and called upon them to continue the good work of revival and prosperity amongst those impacted in crisis. He advised BTS that locally sustainable ventures with adequate marketing linkages should remain the essence of engagement strategy.