Empowering Papads

The Investment dictionary defines an entrepreneur as

"An individual who, rather than working as an employee, runs a small business and assumes all the risk and reward of a given business venture, idea, or good or service offered for sale. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as a business leader and innovator of new ideas and business processes."

Books are written on the concept, business schools teach courses on how to take an idea and make it into something that yields business returns. It is the in-thing to research in( there is an Entreprenurial Orientation scale I am looking at these days). And business lore is made up of stories of success. Michael Dell, Henry Ford, Oprah Winfrey. Male, female, white or black, the distinctions do not matter, it is only about the idea.

In this club of movers and shakers is a group of 7 semi-literate women from Bombay (Jaswantiben Jamnadas Popat, Parvatiben Ramdas Thodani, Ujamben Narandas Kundalia, Banuben. N. Tanna, Laguben Amritlar Gokani, Jayaben V. Vithalani and another lady). Women, who , on March 15 1959 began something with Rs 80 borrowed from a social worker(Chaganlal Karamsi Parekh, a member of the Servants of India Society and a social worker). Doing what they knew best- rolling papads. A something which has grown to a $100mn a year business. A cooperative "of the women, by the women for the women" as their website states. An organization that now employees over 40,000 women has 67 branches and 35 divisions, expanding their product line to Khakhra, Appalam, Masala, Vadi, Flour, Bakery Products, Chapatis and even detergent.

An exclusive to women organization. The members of the co-operative the "sisters" are co-owners. Each has veto rights and all decisions are based on consensus. No machinery is used for production and everything is still handmade. Accounts, though, are done using computers. The sense of financial empowerment that these women have gained is actually what has helped drive the enterprise.

This organization has been involved in promoting literacy and computer education for women, promoting the welfare of rural women and even teaming up with the UNICEF and Mother Theresa's Missionaries of Charity at several occasions.

This is the story of how large scale sustainable businesses can be built by providing an organizational structure to special skills people have and adding on sustainability by making employees co-owners. It is a wonderful insight into how empowering seemingly unskilled workers and utilizing their core expertise goes a long way in laying the strong foundation of a lasting enterprise.

Lijjat Papad.  Of this Doordarshan-nostalgia evoking commercial:

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