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Shompa Sengupta

Outlook

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October 02, 2017

Tales of women who fought against taboos and gender bia­ses, not to mention poverty and illiteracy, to emerge successful businesswomen abound in Calcutta, women who, without so much as the rudiments of training, have beaten competitors by dint of innate intelligence and hard work.

- Dola Mitra

Shompa Sengupta

Shompa Sengupta’s story is one of great resilience. Right now in her 30s, Shompa never thought that she would have to work, until her husband lost his job during the recession. “Our monthly expenditure was huge; we lived a rather lavish lifestyle. My two children went to expensive schools too.” Yet, even when they realised that money was drying up, it was unthinkable, as far as Shompa’s in-laws and own family were concerned, that she would take up the challenge of becoming the family’s breadwinner. “The most difficult part of it was dealing with the negativity, with people telling you that running a business is a very difficult task, especially with no train

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