Homemaker turned entrepreneur

Homemaker turned entrepreneur

Indira Gowda is the founder-director of Indira Foods, a company that is dedicated to promoting ragi and creating awareness about its benefits. "I started this company at a time when my children had grown up. They were in college, and suddenly I had a lot of free time," shares Indira. While she had the idea of starting a business, she was not able to create something tangible out of it. "I was just a graduate. I had no other training or experience. Around that time I saw an ad, it was a workshop about food. I attended, and I realised that I had a passion for it," she shares.She chose ragi, because of her memories associated with it. "It was something I ate as a child. It is nutritious and filling, and I used to make a lot of food at home with it. I began to wonder why I couldn't commercialise it," shares Indira.However, 18 years ago, when she started, people were not ready to accept her as an entrepreneur. "People didn't understand that I was capable, and I had ambitions. They would ask me why I was chasing after money when my husband was well-to-do. However, I didn't give up," she muses. The company which started out of her kitchen, eventually expanded, with the help of her own personal investments. "Ragi is good for everyone, young or old. It is good even for people with diabetes. I just wanted everyone to know so," she adds.