The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 put the entire world on a halt. It’s no secret that employment hit the rock bottom, GDP growth went crashing, thereby, translating to India’s worst economical performance since its independence.

Well, it was also a time when corporate workers, who suffered financially, due to losing their jobs, started their own ventures.

 India jumping from 471 recognised startups in 2016 to 72,993 in 2022 is a testimony to the fact that Indians, coming from all walks of life, are leaping at the opportunity to become an entrepreneur.

While it’s a common sight in Tier 1 cities where people are transitioning towards adopting entrepreneurship as a career option, the government has lately been vocal that the next wave of entrepreneurship will come from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in India.

Rags to riches stories are often fascinating. And making them possible, at one of the humblest geographies in Eastern UP, is the Jagriti Enterprise Centre – a non-profit organisation working as an incubator to help boost entrepreneurship in the Deoria region.

At present, over 35 enterprises are benefiting from JEC’s on-ground efforts, which has helped establish a host of renowned entrepreneurs in the region from scratch. Further, in a city where employment opportunities are scarce, over 2,000 individuals have been employed by enterprises dealing in different domains such as handicrafts, agro-processing, and pharma.

For instance, Pooja Shahi, who started a small-scale handicraft venture in 2008, is now employing over 400 women from her village as her products were included in the state government’s ODOP (One District One Product) programme, which has also helped her scale her production capacity from 50 pieces a day to 500 at present.

Similarly, RC Kushwaha, the founder of a sanitary pads firm in the remote area, has not only generated employment for over 900 local women, but has also worked towards spreading awareness about menstrual hygiene in 900 nearby villages, meanwhile establishing an enterprise, accelerated by JEC.

Shashank Mani Tripathi, Founder, JEC said, “Starting from Deoria, we want to further expand to other Tier 2, Tier 3 cities in India and ensure that we promote entrepreneurship in these cities and help them contribute to the country’s economy. We aim to generate over 10,000 local jobs in this area in a 5-year period and create a district ecosystem that can be replicated in other Tier 2 and Tier 3 districts”.