Her spirit to do something for society led her to start ALEAP. While navigating a challenging phase and learning the values that shaped her, Rama Devi Kanneganti built an organisation focused on women’s entrepreneurial development. By mentoring women with empowerment and skills, she became an inspiration to many. As she joyfully reflects on her journey and life, CE interacts with her in an exclusive conversation.
Excerpts
Tell us about your journey.
To be honest, I am a very happy housewife. My husband had taken over a sick unit, and a sick unit makes you work more. I was the executive director of that unit. It was not my choice, but inevitably I had to take it up. I used to take care of inventory control, labour, and other issues like orders. This was around 1975. Initially, I was not very involved, but later I started my own organisation. When I started a company, the required information was not available. It took three years for a company to go into production, which meant there were many hurdles. Even if everything else was in place, sometimes orders would not come. This was the journey of an entrepreneur. That made me think — why don’t we have an ecosystem that provides everything? I was elected president of the Ladies’ Wing of the Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce. I happily accepted, thinking I could learn a lot. There were five to six members, and then we thought, why don’t we have our own organisation that caters only to women’s needs? Around the same time, there was a national conference by the Federation of Indian Women Entrepreneurs. We took that opportunity and organised it in Hyderabad. The then chief minister Vijay Bhasker Reddy garu, was invited and he attended the programme. It happened at Ravindra Bharati, and that is where we launched ALEAP in December 1993. ALEAP stands for the Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of Andhra Pradesh, but if you read it the other way around, it is a leap for women entrepreneurs. With membership and the objective of empowering women, this became our main focus area. I am a person who believes in helping others. I feel that providing the required support will help women become very good entrepreneurs.
How did you start the industrial park?
During an international conference, when the chief minister asked me what I wanted, I said I needed land to create an industrial park for women. Everybody was surprised, because no one had dreamt of an industrial park exclusively for women. It was like taking the first step on the moon — asking for something that had not happened in our country. The chief minister was very happy and gave us 20 acres of land. Later, he lost the election and the GO was not issued. When Chandrababu Naidu became the chief minister, he gave another 10 acres, issued the GO, and laid the foundation at Gajularamaram.
The industrial land we were given was full of boulders. All the members told me to leave it. But I believe that when hurdles are greater, your challenges are greater — and so is your success. Overcoming hurdles leads to success. I took up the land, and many people came forward wanting to set up small industries. We asked them to pay 30 percent of the land cost. At that time, Vasundhara Raje was the minister. I told her that this was not good land and requested permission to apply for a grant. She said, ‘If a rule becomes a hurdle to development, remove that rule’.
We received the grant and constructed a compound wall and laid underground cables so that it would look beautiful. We designed it to be number one in the country. We received a green award for the infrastructure. We also introduced EDP training — Entrepreneur Development Programmes — where we provide hands-on training through our existing incubator. This is something unique. Participants understand the entire life cycle of an entrepreneur. Later, when Vasundhara Raje visited the industrial park, she asked one of our officers how many parks were comparable to ALEAP, and he answered, ‘None’. That decision enabled us to create a successful pilot that is replicable even today. Now, every state is looking at it. I believe that given an opportunity, even a micro woman entrepreneur can become a very big industrialist. My objective was to build and strengthen this organisation as a one-stop solution for women to become economically empowered.”
What was the most exciting challenge?
Every day is a challenge. Convincing the government that we can do it is a challenge. The day we received land full of boulders, all I could say was, ‘Oh my God!’ But we came together and solved many problems. Convincing bankers is a daily task. People often doubt women, and I think showing role models is the key. Women are made of strong material.
Was there a point you felt like giving up?
Sometimes I am exhausted. Sometimes I feel I am taking on too many things. Sometimes I may be a wrong judge, and some choices I make may be wrong. Those choices can give me nightmares. Sometimes we fail, and nothing is in our hands. Business is something that is not always in our control.
What keeps you motivated?
I feel that we can do so much, and I want to do my part. However much I do, I feel I can do more — that keeps me motivated. Whatever little change I want to bring, I will do it. Sustainable enterprise creation is my motivation and ambition.