Satara (Maharashtra), May 6:

Thirty-four-year old Lakshmi Kikade could never have dreamt of going to a business management school to learn the nuances of how to run a successful enterprise — for she had never received formal education.

But today she is a budding entrepreneur in her own right with a business management diploma, thanks to the grooming she received from Mann Deshi Udyogini — a business school for rural woman. “I make and sell ladies bags in markets like Mumbai,” she says proudly.

What makes Mann Deshi Business School unique is that it is probably among those institutions that do not ask for any educational degree. All one needs to get admission is a burning entrepreneurial spirit coupled with an unquenchable thirst to make it big in life.

This business school was started by a non-governmantal organisation (NGO) called the Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank in collaboration with the Indian arm of HSBC, a leading global bank.

According to Manndeshi trustees, it was the first rural bank to receive a cooperative licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It provides micro-credit to poor women in the Satara district of Maharashtra.

“Such training centres help to equip women in rural areas with requisite tools and nurse them to become efficient and successful entrepreneurs in their chosen fields,” Naina Lal Kidwai, country head for HSBC India, said.

Unlike the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), this B-school has just three rooms where classes take place on shared basis and its fee structure starts from Rs 150 Indian Currency (IC) for the entire course that may go up to Rs 600 IC.

The school offers courses on how to run enterprises in areas like purse and bag making, photography, screen-printing and mobile telephony kiosks, apart from teaching how to manage books of accounts and finance.

When it started in December last year, almost 150 women enrolled themselves in various courses and in the next five years it plans to admit over 350 students per session, which lasts between three-six months. “This is a path breaking institution as it recognises that women need relevant and appropriate training to enable them become good entrepreneurs,” said Malini Thadani, head of public affairs and corporate responsibility with HSBC India.