Abstract

Pabiben Rabari (Pabiben), a woman of the Rabari community in Gujarat (India), became an internationally acclaimed artisan from a daily wage worker. The Rabari community, known for its rich traditions, and exquisite embroidery, apparently put a ban on the embroidery work for societal reasons resulting in the traditional intricate skill heading toward extinction. Pabiben wanted to not only preserve the art form from dying but also to provide a livelihood to women using their exquisite needlework skills. In 2015, Pabiben started her business under the name Pabiben.com. The Rabari artisans made varieties of bags, gift items, and many other things and sold them through the website to buyers in India and abroad. As of 2023, the organization had around 500 SKUs with cumulative sales of Rs. 2 crore and provided employment to 300 women artisans. Just as the demand for the embroidered goods was rising, Pabiben and her enterprise faced challenges in scaling up the business. Pabiben faced competition from other players. Furthermore, expanding her reach nationally or internationally would require strategic partnerships, and also more funds. Would Pabiben be able to raise the funds, grow the business and continue providing a livelihood to more artisans?

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the factors that drive women to become entrepreneurs
• Analyze how women entrepreneurs are empowering other women in reviving traditional art forms
• Evaluate the problems faced by women entrepreneurs in setting up and scaling an enterprise

Keywords

Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Pabiben Rabari; Pabiben.com; Traditional Art; Women Empowerment; Leadership; Business Strategy; Business Growth; Competition