Manju, A Budding Entrepreneur

- Erin Kim

20-year-old Manju from Varni is currently enrolled in the beauty course at the Pratham center. Even from our brief interaction with Manju, we notice her determination and intelligence. Her father is a farmer while her mother is a housewife. Manju dropped out in 11^th grade because she had no interest in further studies. After receiving one year of training in tailoring in Hyderabad, she started her own business at home and currently earns 10,000 rupees a month. Her real interest, however, is in beauty and decided to take the course at Pratham.

For Manju, her parents are the most important people in the world. Whatever she does, she wants to be able to stay at home with her parents. She is even willing to forego marriage for another 2-3 years so that she can take care of them. While her parents want her to study more, they are happy that she is continuing to learn even if she is not in school anymore. Her friends frequently ask her, “why did you stop studying?” but she is able to brush off any criticism or disapproval because she enjoys what she does and sees a future in it. Her future plans include opening her own business in beauty and combining it with her tailoring business.

We see great potential in Manju to become a successful entrepreneur and are excited to see what lies ahead for her.