“SPINNING TO WINNING”
Forty-six-year-old Shylaja from Keerikkadu near Kayamkulam is one among them. In Alappuzha district, women are employed in various stages of coir production, right from the peeling of coconut husk to the making of ropes from fine fibre. Much of the rope-making work done by them was on rudimentary spinning wheels because they were unable to buy new mechanised machines. Shylaja in order to raise enough money to buy machinery approached a local micro finance company. However, lenders either demanded for collateral or exorbitant interests. During this time, a friend introduced Shylaja to Muthoot Microfin subsidiaries of Muthoot FinCorp. She soon joined a group and applied for a micro finance loan. She was granted the first cycle of microfinancing loan amounting to ₹10,000 to purchase a mechanised spinning wheel for weaving. She soon availed a second cycle micro finance loan of ₹30,000 and used to purchase the required raw materials and further scale her production. The micro finance company also provided her financial literacy to handle money efficiently.
