Shilpy Apa is what I go by in my neighbourhood. Known in my village for my courage and determination, I have started my very own fish farm 5 years ago in Rangpur. After working as the security officer of a large company for more than 12 years, I was finally able to dream to create a fish farm of my own. I thought, “it might be a small kingdom, but it’d all be mine.”
My husband and brother-in-law provided me with ample encouragement. I was lucky enough to get a lot of support from my family. But there were some people in the village who were jealous of a woman running her business successfully without any troubles. Some even attempted to harm my business just so I’d fail. Once it happened that many of my big fishes just died and floated upon the water. Despite the constant investigation, to this day I could not properly diagnose what had happened. I lost fish worth 2-3 lacs taka at that time. Many of the locals suspected that people might have added something to the water to harm my fishes out of jealousy.
Facing defeat head-on, I started nurturing a new batch of fishes. Since my school days, I was a very courageous kid. I always believed that I could survive any situation. So, the monetary loss wasn’t big enough to shake my confidence. Self-belief is what kept me motivated through thick and thin.
The pandemic caused a drastic drop in the price of fishes everywhere in Bangladesh. Like all other fish farmers in our region, I had to sell my fish at a surprisingly low price because otherwise, those would just rot. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I just wanted to survive in 2020.
Not having any professional experience or training in fish farming before, the challenges to run a business as such were large enough. Making mistakes along the way, I moved, slowly but surely, up the ladder, one at a time. I am grateful to WorldFish and LightCastle Partners for supporting and providing guidance in helping me move some obstacles from the pathway. I am an LSP (Local Service Provider) of WorldFish under the IDEA Project which was implemented in partnership with LightCastle Partners’ accelerator program. I was the winner of the accelerator program and won prize money worth 50 thousand takas. This was a big help in advancing my business.
Right now, I want to expand my business by leasing a new pond. For that, I need 2 lacs taka. I went to the local banks asking for a loan, but they refused to provide the amount to me because of not carrying “proper” documents. LightCastle is working with me now to open a bank account and helping me prepare the necessary documentation.
My aim is to become an exemplary women entrepreneur from Rangpur and make my people proud. In parallel to fish farming, I want to explore vegetable cultivation. I would like to utilize every inch of my backyard in cultivating nutritious vegetables without using any chemicals and to be able to sell them all over Bangladesh.