In Kerala a mall solely for women is coming up, giving a huge boost to female entrepreneurship.
The Kozhikode Corporation, Kudumbasree, is all set to develop the Kudumbasree Bazaar project. The Hindu reports that it has been proposed by the Kudambasree Station Mission.
The all-new ‘Mahila Mall’ will come up on Bank Road, in the heart of the city, on a 54-cent plot. Shops run by Kudambasree members, individual women entrepreneurs and women communities, will occupy this 36,000 sq ft 5-storey mall.
The initiative is aimed at women who need a platform to launch themselves in the field of business, and thanks to this, women entrepreneurs in Kozhikode need not look elsewhere for an opportunity to market their products.
According to M V Ramsy Ismail, Kudumbasree Project Officer, the mall will be run by women, who will look after administration, management and everything else. The mall is expected to house a host of enterprises, like:
1. Supermarket
2. Food Court
3. Kids Park
4 .Spa
5. Beauty Parlour
6. Women’s Bank
7. Fancy Stores
8. Textiles and Readymades
9. Boutiques
10. Footwear
11. Dry Cleaning
12. Car Washing
13. Optical Stores
14. Handicrafts
15. Baby Care
16. Home Appliances
17. Book Stalls
There will also be conference rooms, training centres, and underground car parking facility.
The Kudumbasree Bazaar will be a permanent outlet for Kudumbasree projects, that shall be set up on the mall’s premises in its second phase. As of now, Kudumbasree members sell their products at fairs during festival days.
This poses a problem as festivals are seasonal. The Bazaar will make sure the products are available year-round, and the project aims to set up bazaars in all districts.
As for the shops in the proposed mall, which is under construction, bookings have already started. Kudumbasree members will get a 10% discount on the rent, and only need to pay the rent for six months as a deposit, as opposed to the regular 10-month rent payment.
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Kerala is a hotspot for women entrepreneurs. Ecopreneur Lakshmi Menon, who founded Pure Living in 2012 hails from the state. We are sure that this new upcoming mall might be the impetus that fledgeling women entrepreneurs in Kerala need to take their business a notch higher.
Edited by: Shruti Singhal.
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