Kalanidhi Arts & crafts

Jayashree at her stall in Navodyami santhe, showcasing her handcrafted products

Mrs. Jayashree (68 years) & Mrs. Laxmi (28 years), launched a small business venture in 2016. With no background in business and lack of formal business education, they were unsure about how to proceed. The founders initially invested less than Rs. 10,000/- as the operating capital of their business. They produced handmade products like torans, haldi kumkum platters, door hangings but marketed without any brand name. They realised the need of improving their business competency without which it was difficult to thrive amongst competitors.

2017 marked a turning point in their lives when the founders approached Deshpande foundation Navodyami program for business growth suggestions.  They finalized the the name ‘Kalanidhi’ for their business venture. They were relentless in their efforts towards betterment and Navodyami was committed in helping them scale up. Not only did they attend the 2-day Entrepreneurship Awareness Program and the 5-day Entrepreneurship Development Program, these Disha beneficaries made sure to avail the benefits of different Navodyami programs like Santhes, Karyagaras, Sammelanas to learn the ground realities of business. The trainings and advice from Navodyami mentors armed them to face the challenges of business sustainability.  

Disha is a partnership between the India Development Foundation and UNDP, supported by IKEA Foundation, that aims to support one million underprivileged women in India learn marketable skills and connect with income opportunities.

They soon had a large marketing network involving higher profit margins. Navodyami santhes proved to a boon for them, with Kalanidhi Arts & Crafts gaining a turnover of Rs 8,000/- to Rs. 11,000/- per santhe. Now, Kalanidhi has its loyal clientele who have helped them in further expanding to different locations. The venture initially was centered around Dharwad, but has successfully expanded in Belagavi & Hubballi. The founders aim to establish their own arts & crafts store dealing in indigenous, handmade products.