KOCHI: When the pandemic and family responsibilities forced them to take a career break, a few women brushed up their passion and long-lost interests and converted them into business. Nearly 200 of them, spread across the globe, have come together to enhance their businesses and support each other under Queens Business Global.
Apart from promoting homegrown businesses, the platform will also train aspiring entrepreneurs. The seniors will guide them to market their products and encourage buying within the groups. Sandhya C Radhakrishnan, a native of Kodungalloor, who founded the group, had been working as an HR manager and had to take a break from her career due to health issues. After working for eight years and living as a financially-independent woman, she hated the idea of seeking help even from her family. Sandhya had learnt tailoring when she was a teen and she used to design dresses for herself and her friends. Slowly, she tried her hands in embroidery and started making a living by making garments and training other women.
“Each seller will get to promote a post daily. So nobody can flood the Facebook group. There are 77 sellers on the platform now. We also have clear guidelines for posting. Those who wish to promote their product can send the details to the group admins, who will prepare a promotion card, which the seller can post in the group. There is no competition. Rather, we support each other and make sure we prioritise group members while making purchases,” said Sandhya. The group also screens products and sellers for quality. When Sandhya created the page on Facebook, she received a good response. Within three days, they had 2.2k followers.
Blesseena George from Bahrain, Vidya Mohan from Alappuzha, Renu Shenoy from Dubai and Shilpa Sunil from Kannur are the other founding members and admins. Their next vision is to set up a common website in collaboration with the Kerala Start-up Mission.