Dhanotsav: India's First Pitch Reality Series for Rural Women Entrepreneurs
Dhanotsav is India's first pitch reality series for rural women entrepreneurs. Watch Archana, Deepa, Hemlata & 6 others pitch their businesses on YouTube.
What happens when rural women entrepreneurs pitch on a Shark Tank-like stage, and the world watches on digital platforms?
That is exactly what Dhanotsav by STEP set out to answer. Season 1, filmed in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, is already available for streaming on YouTube.
Dhanotsav brings the stories of nine extraordinary rural women to the national stage.
Selected from 200 women trained under STEP's Safal Karobar Program, these rural women entrepreneurs built businesses in electricals, sustainable fashion, hygiene products, sarees, flour mills, and more. They told their stories on camera for the first time.
Let us meet them.
The Nine Entrepreneurs of Dhanotsav Season 1
Suman Gautam: The Hygiene Advocate on Wheels
Suman is on a mission. Armed with an e-rickshaw and a determination to serve, she travels across 35 villages in Babina block, spreading menstrual hygiene awareness and selling eco-friendly banana fibre pads. She now covers all the 56 villages of the block and is entering adjacent blocks. Her enterprise is as much a public health initiative as it is a business.
Archana: The Electrician Who Refused to Be Stopped
Archana is the only female electrician in her block, a distinction that says as much about the barriers she broke. An 8th-pass entrepreneur who overcame paralysis and personal hardship, she runs a successful electrical shop that sells and repairs electrical equipment. When her husband got diagnosed with cancer, she continued alone, earning the trust of an entire community through sheer persistence. Archana's story is one of quiet revolution: in a profession defined by men, she showed up, stayed, and won.
Deepa Majumdar: The Upcycler Who Proved It's Never Too Late
At 64, Deepa is proof that entrepreneurship has no age limit. A graduate who taught herself through YouTube and drew inspiration from Pinterest, she crafts eco-friendly bags from old clothes and plastic waste, turning what others discard into products that carry both purpose and beauty. Her journey is a reminder that the most powerful innovations sometimes begin with the simplest materials.
Hemlata: The SHG Leader Who Led the Way
Once selected for the police force, Hemlata had to turn it down due to family responsibilities, a sacrifice familiar to millions of Indian women. She channelled that unfulfilled ambition into building a Saree Centre from her home, expanding her reach through WhatsApp, and now planning to add a matching centre to her shop. Hemlata also leads her Self-Help Group and has become an inspiration to women around her. Her guiding belief: age is no barrier to ambition.
Kalyani: The Pandemic Entrepreneur
When the world shut down, Kalyani saw an opening. She, along with her husband, co-founded an electronics shop during the pandemic, combining retail sales with contract services to create a one-stop solution for their community's needs. Her story is one of adaptability, partnership, and entrepreneurial instinct that thrives precisely when circumstances are hardest.
Pooja Gautam: The Pharmacist Turned Village Entrepreneur
With a bachelor's degree in Pharma and Physiotherapy, Pooja identified a gap in her village and filled it, opening a provision store that serves daily needs and generates community income. Her vision extends further: she plans to expand into homemade, chemical-free spices and create employment opportunities for local women. Pooja's enterprise is equal parts business and social commitment.
