Kantabai was a welder who was trying to save some money to buy a tarpaulin sheet that would protect her family during the monsoon. Banks in her village, located in Mann taluka of Satara district, turned her down. She then met Chetna Sinha, founder of Mann Deshi Bank who took her request and decided to start a bank for others like her. Kantabai is now a micro-entrepreneur who sells her wares in the village and at festivals. Another woman from the tribal area near Nashik made Nirgundi oil, popular for relief from joint pain, for her family. At the last Mann Deshi Mumbai Mahotsav, she took a loan of R5,000 to set up a stall and went back with a profit of Rs 20,000.

The two are among the nearly 100 women who will bring a taste of rural Maharashtra, from the Mann region in Satara, to Mumbai as part of the Mann Deshi Mumbai Mahotsav. Organised by the Mann Deshi Foundation, the festival is an effort to give rural women micro-entrepreneurs a platform to exhibit and sell their produce and craft. "Besides, it gives them the opportunity to interact with customers and meet other entrepreneurs," says Devika Mahadevan, head of strategy and communications, Mann Deshi Foundation.