A Harvard degree holder with an MBA degree in the kitty but still addressed as “NGO wali” for her community work.
Meet, Renu Shah, Founder of Empathy- The Shakti Project https://www.facebook.com/shaktichallenge/, is an incubation program for women entrepreneurs working towards finding solutions to social problems in India.
Life of an entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship has always been on Renu’s mind. She has been the Co-founder – Shikshantar School & Founder-Koseli Foundation, Nepal, Director- Ashoka Changemaker Schools, Co-founder, Project Pehal, and now Shakti – The Empathy project. This journey was not easy and the path an entrepreneur chooses is always lonely. She says people admire you from a distance but no one shares your challenges. If an entrepreneur can sustain the first three-year period then nothing will come in the way of success.
How is it being a women entrepreneur?
I remember being mocked for being a ‘hippo’ in my childhood days but I have taken the trait of the animal literally – thick skin.
Despite all improvements, the number of females in leadership roles and the number of women entrepreneurs is way too less. We women are not taken seriously in the business world and we have to constantly prove our worth. It took me five years to prove myself. A lot of women give up on a successful career due to standard gender roles. When I started my own social venture I was constantly questioned for my decision to leave the business and venture into a world of uncertainty. It is difficult to explain your passion especially when it doesn’t give you big money in return.
I believe in one thing, “You have to be totally convinced about your own idea only then you’ll be able to convince others”
I have firm faith in my vision and I am working on making it a reality.
Experience in Nepal
Nepal was a game-changer. I learned a lot of life lessons during that period. I was working with underprivileged children living in the slums of Kathmandu valley. We had children who were injured, bitten by rodents, etc and were in a feeble state of health. We also had children who were sexually assaulted. I cannot forget an episode where a little five or six-year-old girl unbuttoned her shirt whenever she wanted to ask for something. For her, this was expected behavior. From that first episode, she has come a long way and grown up into a confident teenager, currently studying in high school.
There are several episodes that made me realize that so many children out there need support and so do so many women social entrepreneurs running projects for them.
Tell us more about Shakti
In all my ventures I saw a significant gap between my passion and actual skills needed to be a successful social entrepreneur. There were women who were willing to work for social causes but they lacked a safe and powerful network of other women from their own tribe. Most of them give up in the first three years due to several socio-economic-support-skill issues. I wanted a platform where they can be heard without any judgments. I launched Shakti-The Empathy Project that focusses on filling this gap. The program has workshops and a mentorship program that guides them to build up their enterprise. During our first cohort, it was absolutely amazing to see the kind of ideas these women had. Shakti is proud to be a partner of their amazing journeys.
What is your vision for Shakti?
I want to reach out to every single woman who is trying to make a change while trying to achieve her own dreams.
Let Shakti be the real power of each woman social entrepreneur.
Let women lead the entrepreneurial world
