She runs her business with surgical precision
SRINAGAR: Not one to be tied down by the shackles of the society, Nasira Akhter, 34, always wanted to do something different in life.
She initially went with the tried and tested formula – got a commerce degree, pursued an ITI course in computers and stenography, and landed a government job. But her heart lay elsewhere. So, she took the leap of faith, turned down the job offer and put all her energies into setting up a small- scale industry (SSI) in Khonmoh, an idea on which she had been working since her graduation years.
Today, Akhter’s SSI unit, which produces surgical items such as bandages, cotton, masks and bedsheets, has an annual turnover of Rs 80 lakh and employs over a dozen workers, besides providing work to scores of others— mostly women.
“I am the only woman in Kashmir who works in the field of bandage production. There are a few others in Jammu but none in Kashmir. My products reach every city and district-level hospital here,” she says. But setting up a profitable unit requires a lot of planning, research and sound judgement.
“After brainstorming various ideas with my brother, I travelled to Delhi, Jind and Muradabad to survey the market and acquire more knowledge about the field. It is there I learnt about bandages,” says Akhter.
She took loans from time to time, from different financial and entrepreneurial institutions such as EDI (Entrepreneur Development Institute), KVIC (Khadi Village Industries Commission) and DIC (Directorate of Industry and Commerce) to scale up her business.
Her aim now is to raise her unit’s annual turnover to Rs 2 crore.
“It can only happen if I have access to a government market. The JK Medical Supplies Corporation Limited does not accept our supplies as we are small units. They favour those whose turnover runs into crores. The government should support SSIS.”
But she is happy with how far she has come. “I built my establishment from the scratch. I used to travel in public transport, sometimes walk all the way and have blisters on my feet. But I never gave up,” she says.
She says her family has been her biggest support system.
“My parents, though unlettered, always motivated me and my siblings. They encouraged us to get educated and when I decided to set up my SSI, they even mortgaged their jewellery to help me financially,” says Akhter.
Her success has been a motivation for others. “When other young girls see me excelling in a field that has been mostly dominated by males in the past, they are encouraged break the shackles of the society and work towards their dreams,” says the 34-year-old, who got married about a week ago, and back to work within five days.