Manipur is one of the ‘The Seven Sisters’ in the easternmost part of India. Its name literally means ‘Land of Jewels’. Not for precious stones but for its overwhelming nature, rich of fruits and vegetables which serve as healthy and tasty sources for Meira Foods products. The social enterprise is the latest of Women on Wings’ business partners. Meira Foods provides women of Manipur the opportunity to manufacture the best homemade food from local fruits and vegetables.
Livelihood creation for thousands of women
Women on Wings supports Meira Foods in its growth so more women can be engaged. After the initial field assessment by the Women on Wings team, the findings were that Meira Foods needed support in restructuring business strategy, training modules and to increase the number of women in food processing so that livelihood creation for thousands of women can be created. Secondary objective, though an important one, is also to improve the quality of products so as to market them internationally in a more effective manner.
Bringing home made to international markets
Using technology effectively, Women on Wings consulted with Meira Foods’ team in Imphal, Manipur, over Skype from Gurugram. Both teams had sent their questions prior to the online workshop so that also time could be used effectively. The Golden Circle Concept and SWOT analysis were used to look for answers to the questions raised. The teams discussed many topics, like how to improve quality control, how to tap national and international markets, what technical support is required and is the second line of management in place.
Ambitious lady social entrepreneur
Meira Foods’ founder, Ms. Shubhra Devi (picture left), is an active and ambitious social entrepreneur, dedicated to improving the lives of as many women of Manipur as possible. Ronald van het Hof, joint MD at Women on Wings: “It was inspiring to discuss the ambitious plans with the team. Not only do they want to grow the company and engage many more women, Ms. Shubhra Devi also wants to make the best homemade food ánd make Manipur visible in the industrial map of India. But like it’s said; the role of leadership is to transform a complex situation into small pieces and prioritize them. So that’s what we did too. We jointly set goals and priorities and put an action plan in place which we shall be reviewing every quarter.”
