Sriparna Das Chakraborty, Weaving Livelihoods with Crochet, Supported by IIM-B

This post celebrates the work of Council Member Sriparna D Chakraborty, founder & CEO of Aamani's Crochet, a clothing and lifestyle brand specialising in crochet fashion.

Hi! I’m Sriparna. I’m the founder and CEO of Aamani’s Crochet, a B2B and B2C venture established in 2017 with a goal to produce high-quality handmade crochet and macrame products that people can use every day. We wanted to get crochet out of the closet and into people’s wardrobes and living spaces, while preserving its timeless elegance using eco-friendly and sustainable raw materials.

With a desire to have an all-women production crew, we provide free training in crochet and macramé to women artisans under our flagship project Zarriya by Aamani’s Crochet. So far, we have trained more than 200 women across India, supporting them to earn an income with dignity and improve their living conditions.

We are an indigenous manufacturing company, but our exquisite and unique products have given us more than 1,500 happy and satisfied customers to date. Our wide range of products includes apparel, accessories and jewellery, bags and potlis, shoes and belts, home furnishing, toys, wedding collections, gifts, rakhis, and more.

Incubation with NSRCEL-IIM Bangalore

Our incubation journey started during the pandemic, when we thought of doing something productive that would help the business in future. At the time we were associated with many women entrepreneur groups in NCR and other states, but something was amiss. I wanted to do something that would take things a step further. I wanted to go pan-India and also explore the overseas market. During my research, I learned about the incubation programme offered by the NSRCEL (N S Raghavan Centre of Entrepreneurial Learning), the business incubator unit of IIM Bangalore.

The best part was that the programme was free. Of course, I was not familiar with NSRCEL at the time, but the IIM-B tag was very attractive – it was like a dream come true. I enrolled for the programme and the journey started with pre-incubation with 11,000+ applicants. Finally, Aamani’s Crochet was incubated after several rounds of evaluation over four months. By February 2021, there were only 210 of us qualified for the incubation. In the final evaluation, Aamani’s Crochet was selected among the top 50 ventures.

Our cohort, WSP 3.0 (Women Startup Programme, version 3), was very popular, being the first completely online programme offered by NSRCEL. Our batch went through many ups and downs due to Covid; many of our peers were hospitalised, but we stayed together as a strong support system. Even our professors admired our unique bonding.

From a learning point of view, this experience was a game-changer for me. It completely changed my thoughts and approach to doing business. I could not have gained this knowledge from anywhere else. The training was no different from a full-fledged management programme. Though a few of the 210 incubatees were in revenue stage, many were in ideation stage. After completing the incubation, most have successfully registered their businesses.

In the first week of March 2023, we had a chance to visit the IIM-Bangalore campus when NSRCEL invited us for the launch of WSP 4.0. We met our professors and mentors for the first time, which was again a surreal experience. We got to showcase our products at WSP SANTHE, an exhibition organised for WSP students to display their products and receive feedback and guidance from their mentors. SANTHE means ‘fair’.

The incubation is long over, but our mentors and professors continue to be there for us and support us.

It’s a matter of pride to have this experience in my portfolio.

Accelerated Programme by Technoserve India

After the incubation with NSRCEL, Aamani’s Crochet was selected for the Accelerated Programme by Technoserve India, where I got the opportunity to attend the Entrepreneur Executive Programme by IIM Bangalore. This was also an extremely enriching learning experience.

Currently, we are awaiting selection for another pre-incubation programme on Social Entrepreneurship by IIM Visakhapatnam. I’m keenly looking forward to this programme.

Before I go, I would like to mention a product that’s been a personal favourite since we started producing it in 2015, much before Aamani’s Crochet came into being: handmade crochet Rakhis for adults and kids. You are welcome to order these for your loved ones.

That’s all from me. I hope my entrepreneurship journey was inspiring to read. To learn more, you are welcome to connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, or by email: sriparna@aamaniscrochet.com

Some more pictures: