VISAKHAPATNAM: The first women’s supermarket named Jagananna Mahila Mart (JMM), owned by 20,000 Self Help Groups (SHG) members, will soon be launched in Visakhapatnam. All groceries, food items, handicrafts, dairy products and perishables will be sold here at lower prices than supermarkets.
SHG members themselves are investors in this mart. Such marts have already been successful in towns like Tirupati and Proddutur in the state, where each mart sells goods worth ₹2 lakh to ₹3.5 lakh daily.
The Urban Community Development (UCD) wing of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation is promoting this mart. Sharing details of JMM’s progress with Deccan Chronicle, UCD project director K.V.P. Naidu said they have identified a 2,500 square feet building for the mart in Malkapuram.
The mart will sell not only monthly requirements by households, but also products like Etikoppaka toys, Araku coffee, Kondapalli toys and Uppada sarees.
Naidu said: “Each SHG member can become the JMM owner. Their business share is ₹150 per head. With a total of 20,000 members, they will be mobilising a lump sum of ₹30 lakhs using which various goods to be sold in the mart can be purchased. GVMC is giving them the building for the mart without charging any rent. JMM members will have to pay only electricity and water bills, apart from other running charges,” he explained.
JMM members hope Vizag’s first women’s mart in Malkapuram will also do good business, like the supermarkets that have been opened in Tirupati and Proddutur.
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