THE COMMITMENT

At Global Citizen Festival 2013, Global Citizens voted, and HP awarded $5,000 plus an HP EliteBook Revolve notebook PC to Indian entrepreneur Bano Fatima for starting her small business, Weaver’s Hut, using the HP LIFE e-learning platform in India.

PROGRESS

Hewlett-Packard has fulfilled their commitment, enabling Bano Fatima to continue building her fresh approach to weaving for sustainable development.

IMPACT

Weaver’s Hut focuses on socio-economic empowerment and income generation for the most vulnerable handloom weavers in rural Uttar Pradesh, India. Since winning the HP Life entrepreneur’s award, Bano has used the prize to develop income generation by engaging in extensive research on a governance structure for handloom weavers, as well as furthering her education.

“Since I initiated my work with the handloom sector and created Weaver's Hut, I realized that in order to be serious, I need to acquire skills and understand the development sector. For this reason I decided to pursue a year-long masters’ programme at the Institute of Development Studies in UK.”

You can see how far Bano has come here and take a closer look at the Weaver’s Hut concept here .

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Bano Fatima plans to expand Weaver’s Hut to include more weaver households. She plans to revise her business trajectory for sustainable long term growth, aligned with her long term strategic vision to enable Weaver’s Hut to facilitate poverty alleviation of handloom weavers in her community. Over the next three to four years Weaver’s Hut aims to start addressing related health, adult education, and and gender equality for the handloom workers. Bano will also expand her market base so that more people have access to the weaver’s products.