Lovely Begum lives in Ramrampur Union at Jamalpur district, Bangladesh, with her husband and three children.
Lovely enrolled in the Scaling-up of Women Business Centre (SWBC) project in 2020, where United Purpose trained her in incubator management and hatching eggs. She had prior experience in egg hatching using traditional practices, so UP provided her with an incubator to expand her business.
An incubator may be a simple tool – but it meant Lovely could transform her business. She started out by incubating 184 fertile chicken eggs. After 21 days, 173 had hatched, which she sold to a local trader for 30 taka each. Her net profit from selling chicks was BDT 2,338 (£20) in total.
Lovely with her incubator and eggs
She is happy with the money she has earned through the incubator and is spending it on her children’s education.
Lovely is now on her second batch, comprised of 200 fertile chicken eggs. She says: “This time I will raise the chickens by myself and I will build a small poultry farm. I am planning to sell the chicks at a higher price in the market, as local market has a demand for chicks. Doing business this way, I dream of becoming a successful poultry farmer in the near future. I believe that with the support of United Purpose, I will fulfill my dream.”