Shajeena Shanavas

Biriyani specialist caterer - Kerala

Belstar’s objective is to identify and effectively empower women to build a sustainable livelihood by giving them access to credit and training. Shajeena from Aluva is one such empowered woman and belongs to the Belstar JLG named Ambal.

An enthusiastic person, Shajeena loves to spend her time in the kitchen experimenting with various recipes. Over time she came to understand that her ‘Biriyani’ was much sought after and was her signature dish. Her dream was to become a Biriyani specialist caterer. She joined the JLG in 2018 and has since then realized her dream.

The group not only helped Shajeena take a loan to start her business, she also found five other like-minded members to help her start this business. The road to success was not easy; Shajeena had to follow trial and error and learn to market her product as well. Being a family woman, she had to take care of her children, send them to school and only then start her work. Demand was erratic and Shajeena had to have tremendous perseverance to keep up the business.

With the Belstar Credit Plus team giving her valuable business advice and business plan help, Shajeena took off to a great start. Today she is earning INR 30,000 per month and is also ready to train women who are interested in the business. Also, in the pipeline is business expansion with another loan.

Stories of change

Belstar’s success stories paint the picture of how women have inspired many by beating impossible odds and succeeding on their own for their families, with a little help from microfinance.

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