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From vulnerability to victory, Delhi’s Rekha Lokhana’s journey with her business InstaEats is an inspiring one of entrepreneurial triumph!
At 33, Rekha, once an assistant professor and dietician, is now a successful entrepreneur. Her personal health breakthrough paved the way for InstaEats, a business aimed at helping people manage their lifestyle diseases with a personalized superfood blend. However, without adequate capital, her entrepreneurial dream would have remained just that.
In this WomensWebXMahilaMoney impact series, we bring you entrepreneurs like Sonu Davar who had not just the ambition to grow, but took the steps needed to bring their dreams to fruition. Apply for a loan of up to 25 lakhs to fuel your business growth by downloading the Mahila Money App on Google Playstore or visiting the website here.
With the help of a Mahila Money loan, Rekha was able to turn her personal vulnerability into a flourishing entrepreneurial pursuit, resulting in an annual turnover of over eight lakhs.
When COVID-19 struck, Rekha’s husband’s fitness business had to shut down. She helped him curate diet plans for his clients. “It was a challenging time for the family, especially since I was diagnosed with PCOS.” Despite the setbacks, Rekha, a post-graduate in food and science technology, was determined to find a way to stay strong.
“My success in reversing my own PCOS and helping my sister-in-law manage her thyroid levels with a personalized superfood blend was a transformative moment. It inspired me to share my knowledge and expertise with others facing similar health challenges.
That’s how the idea of InstaEats was born.
I was aiming to simplify healthy eating, making it affordable and accessible for all. However, I knew that the missing piece of the puzzle was ‘CAPITAL’. And I started looking for options to arrange funds”, shared Rekha with conviction.
Despite her knowledge and determination, accessing credit and mobilizing the capital needed to grow her business was a significant hurdle for Rekha. However, she found a ray of hope in Mahila Money.
Rekha says, “I’m glad to have found Mahila Money that supports women entrepreneurs in launching their business. Addressing financial needs with business finance education and community support is a cherry on top.”
Rekha shares, “The idea of InstaEats was just brewing when I came across the platform. It was as if the universe had planned things for me.” Wasting no time, Rekha applied for a loan of 2 lakhs in Feb 2022, and she invested the funds immediately in manufacturing the products. InstaEats was officially launched in September 2022.
Since then, Rekha’s entrepreneurial journey has been nothing short of remarkable. Sharing her success, Rekha exclaimed, “By the end of February 2023, InstaEats had an annual turnover of above eight lakhs! This support has been a game-changer for me.”
Once InstaEats was up and running, Rekha’s next challenge was marketing her products to a wider audience. While she had already received positive feedback from friends and family and had some success with word-of-mouth marketing, she knew that expanding her reach would require additional funding.
Fortunately, Rekha’s timely repayment of her ongoing loan led to an exciting opportunity. “Mahila Money offered a top-up loan since I had consistently paid my EMIs. I was overjoyed and accepted a loan of 90K for marketing,” recalls Rekha. She goes on to express her gratitude for the support she’s received, “They have been my savior and have helped me every step of the way. I can’t thank the team enough.”
With her products
With the additional funding, Rekha is confident in achieving even greater success. “I’m aiming for an annual turnover of 2.5 crores, and I have my fingers crossed,” she says optimistically. As her business grows, she remains driven to expand her knowledge and skills. She has enrolled in entrepreneurial programs and financial literacy courses to equip herself with advanced business skills.
Rekha applauds Mahila Money’s trailblazing support for women entrepreneurs, including those in rural areas. “For promotion and valuing women’s business ideas, I now actively recommend the platform to entrepreneurs like me, including my mother who runs a preschool in a rural village.I believe that when women are supported and given confidence to #JiyoApneDumPe, they can achieve anything.”
Rekha’s business journey is testament to the power of determination and support. Her story exemplifies how the right capital solutions and guidance can turn a budding entrepreneur’s dreams into reality.
If you are a #JiyoApneDumPe woman entrepreneur who wants to take your business to new heights and needs working capital and entrepreneurship resources, get in touch with the Mahila Money team today.
Mahila Money is a neobank for women supporting entrepreneurs with productive capital via loans and a community platform for business success and other financial products like insurance and investments. Mahila Money facilitates loans for businesses, read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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