A Housewife's Successful Journey towards Entrepreneurship

ADRA Bangladesh is working relentlessly to improve the livelihood of marginalized communities in remote areas through its Community Empowerment Project (CEP). CEP in Dacope, Khulna, has improved the lives of many women by engaging them in income-generating activities (IGAs) – Priyanka Sardar is one of them.

Priyanka Sardar lives in Botbunia village of Dacope Upazila in Khulna district. It is a coastal area. Generally, people are depending on agriculture and fisheries in the area. Due to high salinity in the soil, farmers cannot get good crops. Priyanka doesn’t have enough land to cultivate.

“I came to know about the Community Empowerment Project (CEP), Dacope, Khulna, of ADRA Bangladesh from my neighbors. I thought that CEP could help me to improve my life. In the beginning, CEP authority trained us to deal with natural disasters as we were living in a disaster-prone area. Apart from this, they distributed relief materials among us. In 2019, I enrolled in a savings scheme to save a handful amount of money so I could use that money to start a local business. I took a loan from BDT. 25,000 in 2022 from our Shomity and started a sweetmeat shop. My husband Shukanto Ghosh helped me to run the shop. Gradually, I paid the loan amount from my business,” Priyanka described her journey to become an entrepreneur.

Later, Priyanka realized that she needed more money to expand her business. Then she discussed this with the authority of CEP. “I took the second loan from BDT. 50,000 from the Shomity in 2023 and invested the whole money in my business. Now, the sales have increased drastically. My business is running smoothly,” Priyanka said happily.

Now, the shop is the only earning source for Priyanka. She can afford her family expenses harmoniously. “I think my financial status has been improved a lot. I can save some money from my business every month. I can afford the educational expenses of my children with ease. This business helps me to get rid of all the hardships I was encountering before. I want to thank ADRA Bangladesh for guiding me and helping me to obtain financial stability. This was not possible without their heartiest support,” Priyanka is grateful to ADRA Bangladesh.

Today, Priyanka's shop is a huge success, and she is an inspiration to many women who want to start their businesses. Despite the challenges she faced, Priyanka never gave up on her dream to become an entrepreneur, and her hard work and perseverance paid off in the end.