Stories of Impact

ANWA is exhilarated to launch a new segment “Stories of Impact”!

We are grateful to narrate the efforts and dedication of all the strong women of our community whose business and identity have got impacted by ANWA.

Our first story is about the journey of Neeru Mittal

Neeru Mittal, started following her passion for teaching cooking and baking as a hobby in 2015. However, she was not sure if it could be turned into a good business. When ANWA was launched in 2018, Neeru was among its initial community members. At that time, Neeru had just kickstarted with a few offline classes. With the help of ANWA’s Business Pathshaalas, Neeru was able to create a brand identity, navigate technology to launch online classes, and find a good product market fit for her classes after a few rounds of experimentation, besides learning to manage her roles as an entrepreneur and homemaker.

“In a ladder of 15 steps, ANWA’s Business Pathshaalas helped my business reach the 10th step from the 3rd step.”

Now she is running this business @salt_and_pepper_learn_to_cook with confidence and giving employment to 2-4 people. She has trained approximately 1500 people and deals with premium clients. Her business has grown by 70% after joining ANWA and she earned laurels like Best Cooking Classes 2019 awarded by Sanjeev Kapoor, Best Cooking Classes 2020 awarded by Kunal Kapoor and Vicky Ratnani and also won ANWA Rising Star award in the year 2019.

"ANWA is a great platform for those who want to convert their hobby into a business or have an idea and passion to do business. ANWA works as a torchbearer in your business journey, they guide you in tackling your business problems and in growing your business."

- Neeru Mittal

Awards: ANWA Celebrating Women

Entrepreneurship is hard. One doesn’t wake up one fine day and become an entrepreneur. It requires years of struggling, planning, experimenting, failing, trying again, and most importantly, believing in yourself when no one else does. Right from conceiving an idea to developing it, acquiring funds and tending to your enterprise, there’s a lot of work to be done. And the struggle becomes harder when you’re a woman.

Statistical data suggests that women are less likely than men to start a venture, because they lack funding and self-confidence.

It’s easy to overlook this hard work and years of oppression that have prevented the rise of women entrepreneurs. And this is exactly why it is essential to acknowledge the work that goes behind a woman running a business. Awarding them isn’t just about recognizing their successes; it is about respecting the faith they kept in themselves, bowing down to their failures and subsequent rises, and saluting their immense courage. It is about celebrating their happiness.

Honoring their journey is a central pillar of ANWA’s legacy. Over the past 3 years, we have made the ANWA Business Women's Awards a landmark event of Mathura, to provide recognition to unheard and uncelebrated voices.

In the first year, our awards recognized the best in the industry; the second year’s awards were dedicated to upcoming entrepreneurs, and in the third year we included professionals as well.

Each year, we’ve awarded 25+ women in our one-of-its-kind initiative. We aspire to keep growing by awarding and celebrating many more women in the years to come.

Find your new best friend in a Mentor

Having a mentor is immensely beneficial when you’re setting up shop or dipping your toes into entrepreneurial waters.

A mentor provides support and suggestions that can change the direction of your business, and help you safeguard yourself from errors early on in your venture.

For women entrepreneurs, who often set up their enterprises with little or no support, having a mentor can make all the difference required to make their venture successful.

Here are some benefits of women entrepreneurs having a mentor:

Helps them take risks

Many first-time woman entrepreneurs lack self-confidence and as a result, shy away from taking risks. This can prevent them from success early on in their career. A mentor can advise them about which risks to take in order to make big wins.

Shows them what is possible

When budding entrepreneurs are short on experience, a mentor can show them everything that’s possible. This can open avenues for women entrepreneurs to dream big and take their businesses to the next level.

Moral and emotional support

The entrepreneurial road can be a lonely one. A mentor doubles as a friend to women entrepreneurs and can provide them with moral and emotional support. Sometimes, all an entrepreneur needs is a friend who’s got their back after a long day.

Increasing network

Having a mentor who’s well-established in the field you're starting out in means getting a chance to utilize their existing network to expand yours. People are the greatest resources for entrepreneurs, especially new ones!

Increases exposure

Looking at people who’ve ‘been there, done that’ gives women entrepreneurs a chance to learn from another’s mistakes. Exposure early on can go a long way.

ANWA’s mentorship program for women entrepreneurs was started keeping in mind these facts.

To support its women, ANWA connected its Business Women’s Award winners of 2020 to a network of skilled and accomplished mentors, from a range of fields.

Each mentor interacted with a few mentees for a period of 10 weeks. This helped several women entrepreneurs gain the support they needed, to take one step closer to their dreams.

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