THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The lockdown has severely impacted nearly 24,000 enterprises under the Kudumbashree and over 64,000 women entrepreneurs have lost their livelihood, according to a study by the women’s collective. The study also pointed out that if the present situation continues, the women will land in a huge debt trap. Sajith Sukumaran, COO of Kudumbashree National Resource Organisation, and Anish Kumar M S, state programme manager, Startup Village Entrepreneurship programme, conducted the study.
“Hundreds of Kudumbashree workers, especially those in production and marketing domains, have landed in a huge crisis. The sectors that have been severely hit include bakery, catering, apparel, cafe, restaurants, tea stall, auto, taxi, furniture works, bags and aluminium manufacturing to name a few.
Tailoring units and sanitiser manufacturing units had received a boost following the lockdown. Though Kudumbashree units received bulk orders from many districts for production of face masks, the absence of raw materials played spoilsport. The study was undertaken with the help of district programme managers and around 400 micro-enterprises consultants.