Crunchy Bites : Suman's Murkhu Business with Unity Bank
5 min read | 7 months ago
Suman Dewangan - Durg, Chhattisgarh
My husband was a mason doing contract-based work in our village. I did odd stitching jobs during my free time to supplement our income. However, with two children to put through school and increasing living costs, we realized that our current income won’t be sufficient to sustain.
In 2014, Centrum’s Loan Officer was in our village to meet with a group of women. He explained the concept of a joint liability group loan and assisted us if I was keen to start a business of my own. I decided to take a loan of Rs 36,000. Since I was good at cooking, I drew out a business plan to make small quantities of ‘murkhu’ (Chakli), which is a popular snack all over India. My husband assisted me in taking the stock to the local market and selling it to customers. The snack drew popularity from locals and demand increased. As we were unable to manage the entire operations by ourselves, we decided to hire daily wageworkers to help us expand. With the help of two additional workers, we again achieved operating at full capacity and were now able to sell to nearby villages as well. With my second loan cycle, I employed an additional 6 workers, paying them each over Rs 120/- per day. Together, we make over 1000 - 1200 packets of murkhu every day, with all responsibilities divided equally amongst us.
We engaged with Mr Gupta, a larger distributor, who now helps us reach our products in over 12 markets. My children are in 6th and 8th standard respectively, and we are happy that we are living a respectable life and providing employment to over 8 people as well. I am extremely grateful to Centrum and hope to continue being associated with them so I can expand my business further.
In 2014, Centrum’s Loan Officer was in our village to meet with a group of women. He explained the concept of a joint liability group loan and assisted us if I was keen to start a business of my own. I decided to take a loan of Rs 36,000. Since I was good at cooking, I drew out a business plan to make small quantities of ‘murkhu’ (Chakli), which is a popular snack all over India. My husband assisted me in taking the stock to the local market and selling it to customers. The snack drew popularity from locals and demand increased. As we were unable to manage the entire operations by ourselves, we decided to hire daily wageworkers to help us expand. With the help of two additional workers, we again achieved operating at full capacity and were now able to sell to nearby villages as well. With my second loan cycle, I employed an additional 6 workers, paying them each over Rs 120/- per day. Together, we make over 1000 - 1200 packets of murkhu every day, with all responsibilities divided equally amongst us.
