LocationsHow Anondomela, an alternative marketplace born out of a pandemic, helped hundreds of SMEs stay afloat and changed the fate of many like Aatiya.
Trials and tribulations of Aatiya: The single mother who dared to dream
May 14, 2023
Single mother Aatiya Siddiqui's aspirations for a better life have touched the hearts of all those she has come across, thanks to the support of Anondomela
How Anondomela, an alternative marketplace born out of a pandemic, helped hundreds of SMEs stay afloat and changed the fate of many like Aatiya
She is her ‘father’s princess’, always has been. She was also a top student. Always interested in creative pursuits. And forever a dreamer. And then, with sky-high dreams, Aatiya Siddiqui was married off before she could fulfil any of those ambitions. In her 16-year-long married life, she was faced with many trying situations, but never one that could deter her spirit. As time went by, Aatiya became the mother of two children while continuing to internally nurture her dreams of becoming an independent, self-sufficient person.
Right after her second child was born, Aatiya and her husband started facing financial struggles. She immediately took matters into her own hands and took some preliminary training in fashion design. And soon went to design her first tie with jamdani fabric. But nothing could help her situation. Eventually, during the lockdown in 2020, her over-a-decade-long marriage ended in a bitter divorce. She was left reeling from the emotional and financial shock. Now a single mother of two children, Aatiya started to live with her parents. To try and make ends meet, Aatiya soon started trying her hands at e-commerce. For someone who had lived all her life in analogue mode, Aatiya was adamant that she would improve her digital literacy. She opened accounts on IMO, and WhatsApp and kept scrolling through Facebook in search of a light to show her the way. As she met more and more people, she kept working on her products, showcasing them on various platforms. But Aatiya knew to really make herself stand out, she would need more than just good products.
Aatiya Siddiqui works tirelessly to bring her fashion designs to life and support her family as a single mother
She needed the training to understand the business better. Around this time during the pandemic, she came across UNDP’s Anondomela platform.
“Someone told me to join Anondomela online platform. There were nearly 3,000 to 4,000 entrepreneurs when I joined. Yet I never felt I was neglected. I have learned a lot through her. I now dare to dream big, I have my own initiative, and it is doing well. I do what I love the most, design products with jamdani fabric. And I did not just get upskilled through Anondomela, I also got mental-health support from them,” says Aatiya.
Aatiya is among hundreds of such amazing women and young mothers who are showcasing their work on Anondomela, an online marketplace of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for entrepreneurs.
In 2022, they started capacity-building training for 3,000 women from 40 districts in Bangladesh, and a solution that was born out of the pandemic is now enriching the lives of all those it touches.
Aatiya is among hundreds of such amazing women and young mothers who are showcasing their work on Anondomela, an online marketplace of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which has been supported by Women’s Empowerment for Inclusive Growth (WING) project since 2021 funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Join Anondomela and get the support you need to showcase your products, connect with customers, and pursue your dreams as an entrepreneur.
