PM lauds young bakery innovator for extending her entrepreneurial endeavours

Srinagar, Mar 7:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday lauded the young female bakery entrepreneurs from Kashmir for their startup.

Interacting virtually with beneficiaries of the Viksit Bharat initiative including a Srinagar-based entrepreneur, the PM commended Ahtisham Majeed, a young bakery entrepreneur from Rawalpora, Srinagar, and highlighted the government’s decade-long commitment to supporting millions of young entrepreneurs in realising their startup aspirations.

He congratulated Ahtisham for extending her entrepreneurial endeavours to involve friends from various districts, emphasising the importance of ensuring that the innovative ideas of youth are not hindered by resource or financial constraints.

Sharing her success story, Ahtisham, accompanied by three fellow entrepreneurs Farheena Bashir from Baramulla, Syed Rafia from Kupwara, and Sakina Nazir from Bandipora started a sugar-free baking manufacturing unit ‘Bake O’clock’ in the Bagat area of Srinagar.

Despite facing financial challenges and coming from lower-middle-class families, these girls shared their journey of passion and perseverance in the bakery industry.

Their dedication to quality and customer satisfaction propelled their venture's success, with monthly sales Rs 2 lakh.

Ahtisham said that having food technology training, they started a baking manufacturing unit with modern technology.

“Amid rising lifestyle diseases like diabetes and keeping in view all the health-conscious people, we decided to provide sugar-free and quality bakery for the people of Kashmir,” she said.

Having nurtured a childhood passion for baking, the women embarked on their entrepreneurial journey after enrolling in the Food Technology Skill Development programme.

Recognising the potential of bakery innovation, they sought support from the Government Polytechnic for Women Skill Development, where they received incubation support for six months.

“During the incubation period, we honed our baking skills, gained marketing expertise, and fostered the confidence to pursue our dreams. Upon completion, we established our manufacturing unit. But we faced some hurdles like acquiring papers," Ahtisam said.

The aspirations of these entrepreneurs were reignited with the introduction of a digital single-window system in 2019.

Empowered by digital services, they overcame paperwork obstacles and established their manufacturing unit.

“We are thankful for the incubation support received, which equipped us with essential resources and kick-started our entrepreneurial endeavours,” she said.