Riwanda Lyngdoh’s life has changed a lot during the past 3 years that she has been associated with AEA. In her hometown of Umsning (30 kms from capital Shillong), she can be seen running her Beauty Parlour. She also uses her Parlour as a retail outlet for various Beauty products. Riwanda is one of 50 iLEAD trained alumni who are being supported with financial assistance under the Tata Trust supported MEPP project of AEA.

A young single mother of 3 children, Riwanda’s association with AEA, dates  back to 2014, when she had joined the iLEAD Shillong centre as a trainee in the Beautician course. She came to the iLEAD centre to gain employable skills through which she could provide for her children’s education. After completing her training, she worked a free lance Beautician. After working for a few months, and with her earnings, she started a small Beauty Parlour in her locality which started doing well. Slowly she started looking for financial support to expand her business.

It was during this time, that her Beautician trainer from iLEAD had informed her about the interest free loans that were being provided to entrepreneurs to upscale and start their enterprises. Riwanda applied for a loan of Rs 100,000 was one of the 10 existing beneficiaries who received financial assistance for starting & upscaling their business. With the loan money, she purchased additional supplies and products for her Parlour. Her parlour continues to be in operation and her average monthly earnings are Rs 15000.