38 year Nusrat Jahan is a perfect example of a business woman. From a simple village girl to the leading entrepreneur of a multi-crore floriculture company, the journey was not so easy. Nusrat Jahan Ara belongs to a small village of Kashmir’s Pulwama district called Dadoora. She completed her graduation in 2010 and quit her government job to start her own company. Today, this wonder lady is successfully running her multi-crore floriculture enterprise and also rejuvenating this sector with her magic touch in Kashmir valley.
Nusrat taught us hard work is the key to success
Starting is always difficult and Nusrat was not an exception. She didn’t get any support or investors at the starting point. But still, she took that risk and invested all her savings into this business. She told Firstpost in an interview “In Kashmir, unlike having a parlour or a boutique, if a woman wants to start a business in an area like floriculture or agriculture, she is looked down upon and no one is ready to help you, not even the government.”
However, Nusrat saw the great demand of flower and the interest in growing gradually in Kashmir. Now she was determined to never look back. Initially, she started working on a credit basis with the vendors. A bank loan is the ultimate solution for this. And a business which was just started with a bank loan now has flourished with three flower farms and an amazing retail outlet. The name of her company is Petals and farms and currently, 20 people are working with it. And the annual turnover of this company is more than Rs 2 crore.
Other remarkable achievements
A leading personal care brand named Kashmir Essence is also run by Nusrat Jahan. This is not the end. Another coveted brand named Himalayan Agro Farms is also run by this wonder woman. This farm is all about home care products. Kashmir Essence deals with each and every traditional products of Kashmir like almond, apple, saffron, apricot, cherry, walnut, olive etc. On the other hand, she has also dedicated her life towards people. Nusrat is now not only empowering the local people of the valley but also she is specially recognised for empowering women.
She told to Daily Excelsior “our handmade personal care and home care products will cover a wide range from body butters and soaps to jams and herbal tea. All formulations are based on locally available ingredients, either cultivated by local farmers or grown in forest areas. These fruits, flowers, herbs and essential oils are then transformed using centuries-old principles of Ayurveda and ethnobotany, all the while keeping the percentage of botanical ingredients to at least 90 percent to the total weight of each product.”
Nusrat is a true inspiration for a woman and everyone from her family is proud of her works. Even her sister also wants to start her own business to be inspired by her venture. Nusrat Jahan’s story is not just a story of a courageous woman, but it’s a hope for our better future.
Article Source: StartupUrban.com