Festival season is approaching in Mysuru, Karnataka, in southern India. During the Dasara festival, the Mysore Palace is illuminated, and fireworks light the night sky. Later in the season, communities across India and the world will celebrate Diwali, dressing to light candles and eat heartily together. In the weeks leading up to these holidays, locals will be shopping for special attire to wear while they celebrate.
Sneha GN, a 28-year-old entrepreneur, is ready to serve them. Sneha owns and operates a garments shop in Mysuru, where she sells clothing, decorative items, and mobile phones and accessories. These seasonal festivals are her busy season. But brick-and-mortar storefronts like Sneha’s need cash to purchase inventory upfront to prepare for the influx of customers. “When you start this kind of business, there are investments you have to make on a seasonal basis, and investments you have to make during festivals,” Sneha says. “Every few months I have to invest to buy stock for my shop. Initially, I took the loan to buy more stock during the festival season.”
That’s where Dvara KGFS comes in. Dvara KGFS is a longtime partner of Accion that provides financial services to underserved people and businesses in India. Small business owners like Sneha can access credit without depending on informal sources while developing financial records and histories. These help them build their credit profile and conveniently access credit for growth.
Sneha first started her business from her home, selling garments to women in her area. When she was ready to expand into her first storefront, she sought a loan of INR 200,000 to make it happen. With a credit history established, one loan led to another, and she’s continued to reach and repay higher amounts of credit to invest in her business. By pursuing her own entrepreneurial journey, Sneha supports her family and helps diversify the household income. She and her husband now own nearby properties, which they rent out for additional income.
With in-person banking complemented by digital platforms, Dvara KGFS can provide personal and business loans, insurance products, and technical support to underbanked communities across India. Sneha began with a joint liability group loan, which she obtained with other women in her community, and eventually transitioned to a larger enterprise loan as her business expanded.
In addition to accessing Dvara’s digital services, Sneha can search trends on her phone, browse online catalogues, place online orders, make digital payments, and schedule deliveries. Digital services help women entrepreneurs like Sneha seek new opportunities and conveniently run their enterprises — saving valuable time and effort she can reinvest in her venture, and her family. As a mother of two small children, Sneha values the time she’s able to spend with her children. Once her business has expanded, she’s been able to hire an employee for her store, freeing her up to spend more time with her family.
Sneha is always looking ahead to the next chapter for her business, saying, “Every season, I need around INR 250,000 because every festive season there are new kinds of dresses and kids’ wear that customers demand. And this season, I have added a new item — sarees — in my collection.”
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