Mahila Umang Producers Company Ltd (Umang) is locally owned by women farmers and producers in the lower foothills of the Himalayas. It sells knitwear and organic herbs and spices, jams and honey and it is driven to grow and impact more women. Recently, a Women on Wings team worked with Umang’s team on how to enhance financial planning and management.
Importance of figures
In addition to selling the produce, Umang supports its members through micro-credit, used for education, improvement of livestock, or other household needs. Anita Joosten, financial expert at Women on Wings, and Shashank Teotia, Senior Business Consultant at Women on Wings, worked for two days with the team of Umang on aspects such cost pricing, cash flow and financial forecasting and how this is linked to sales forecasting and purchase planning. Sunita Kashyap, secretary at Umang : “Anita made us look differently at our figures. I now better understand the importance of financial management and how we can use that to improve our results. Ultimately, our women members and their families will benefit from that.”
Improving lives of hill women
Umang is a collective, promoted by Pan Himalayan Grassroots Development Foundation, of Self Help Groups and producer shareholders and is engaged in promoting livelihoods in order to improve the lives of hill women and their families. By putting the last first, Umang organizes and builds upon the capacities of producer groups and services the entire chain from business to customers. Since 2016, Women on Wings and Umang are collaborating in their joint effort to increase the income of the women already involved and create additional jobs.
