Home ›› 19 Dec 2021 ›› News
Sayda Sultana Mili never knew she had an entrepreneurial spirit, but in 2017, she took a leap of faith with Doyeeta – an f-commerce platform selling hand-painted dresses, sarees, leather goods, and boutique products.
With hard work, courage and determination, Mili turned her initial investment of Tk 600 into a successful venture making Tk 15 lakh in profits annually. She shared the story of her journey while speaking to The Business Post at her stall in the recently held 9th SME Product Fair.
Before she became an entrepreneur, Mili worked as a feature writer, contributor and a reporter in a reputed national daily. But she quit after a year to look after her husband and daughter Doyeeta.
Aside from having honors and masters degrees in Geography and Environmental Science, Mili did a basic course on Pottery in 2001 from BSCIC Naksha Kendra. She also did a clay course from Youth Development Center and learned to make terracotta jewelry around the same time.
Having a love for painting and designing, Mili used to take drawing classes in schools since she was a student herself.
In 2017, Mili’s sister Nupur – who made boutique products – decided to participate in a fair. Nupur requested Mili to make a design for her, and also offered her a 70 per cent – 30 per cent partnership if she joins the fair with her.
Mili agreed and invested Tk 600 to design 200 pieces of tip (a forehead ornament used by women, also known as a bindi). She sold all her stock at the fair for Tk 1,500 in a single day. Inspired by this success, she began dreaming of her own venture.
The same year, Mili launched Doyeeta – a Facebook-based handicraft shop named after her daughter. She then took out a loan, a trade licence and hired a team to begin her entrepreneurial journey.
Mili knew that she had built a successful venture after giving her father Tk 5,000 as a gift from her income. Mili’s profits continued to soar along with her clientele and capital. Starting with tips, she gradually diversified her products by making jewelry with pearls and stone.
Discussing her motivations, Mili said, “For a woman, starting a business and making her own identity is a big challenge. My inspiration comes from my husband. Being financially stable is a necessary component of women empowerment.
“I am thankful to the SME Foundation for organising such a fair for entrepreneurs like me.”
The price of Mili’s tips ranges between Tk50 to Tk200, and prices of jewelry such as necklaces, earrings range
between Tk 250 to Tk 3,000. At the 8-day National SME Product fair, Doyeeta’s sales exceeded Tk 2 lakh, and she received many orders from the visitors as well.
Even on the final day of the fair, many visitors flocked to Mili’s stall in droves to buy eye-catching handcrafted jewelry and other products.
