Perpetually out of comfort zone! Inspiring tale of woman entrepreneur who runs a Hot mix Plant!

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play a significant ole in the national economic deveopment of any country. They provide majority new jobs and produce much of the creativity and innovation that fuels the economic progress. While the MSME ecosystem in India is an overflowing well of innovative ideas and creative solutions to a number of problems, the number of women entrepreneurs and business owners is much lower than male entrepreneurs.

 

Only 13.76 per cent of the total entrepreneurs in India are women according to the data shared by Startup India. But the participation of women in business is increasingly being recognised as fundamental economic growth. One such charismatic female entreprenuer to note is Sushmi Nayak Kanungo who leads a trade segment MSME registered with Odisha Public Works Department.

 

 

Aspiring to make something huge for herself and start with something unusual, Kanungo says she stepped into the field of manufacturing and trading of bitumen at the age of 30. "Where I got everybody's eyebrows raised in the society, today, I am a proud and successful owner of a 'Hot Mix Plant'. Taking this huge decision to venture into something that had absolute male dominance was the biggest challenge for me", she notes.

 

The only woman entrepreneur in the State to enter into this field, Kanungo owns a Hot Mix Plant, which is the production unit for bitumen to be processed with various measurements of chips and metals which is further brought to use in the Construction of roads and bridges. Bearing a contractor's license herself, she executes work directly under various government departments and also supplies and execute the work for other civil contractors in the State of Odisha.

 

 

Further, it is within two years of the Startup, that the Enterprise led by Sushmi Nayak Kanungo has put into effect many of the State government proposals. Hot Mix Plant has till date executed major internal road works during the Hockey Men's World Cup under the Orissa PWD department, public road works from NH-16 to Naharkanta, oad works in premiere institutions like internal roads of Sainik School, Internal roads of East Coast Railway colony, internal roads of Institute of Engineers and more.

 

Such distinctive leadership is worth looking upto. How could the government then resist lauding this power administration? Having made a significant position in a 'Compedium of 100 success stories of Women entrepreneurs engaged in MSME' by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), Union Minister of Road Transport Higways and MSME, Nitin Gadkari extolled this inspiring journey. "If India has to grow, we need to harness the potential of women empowerment", he noted.

 

"As my nature of profession tends towards an absolute male dominance, therefore, I have had my share of struggle to make believe my workers and clients that under my administration the work can be delivered on time and with good quality standards (as per the MORTH specifications)", said Kanungo. The 36th Annual Session of FICCI Ladies organisation (FLO) was organised on April 13 and 14 where Gadkari highlighted the role of women in economic development of the India.

 

It is highly encouraging to note that India has a huge repertoire of women entrepreneurs and that no success is complete unless rank and file know about it. Sushmi Nayak Kanungo's journey is definitely an inspiration to those women who are looking forward to create econmic possibilities for themselves at different levels and equip in a change, participate in the sustainable development of the nation.